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'%tli

iiftratif of tfie ©ifainitg SrijooU

FROM THE LIBRARY OF

THOMAS HILL, D-D,,

The Gift of his CHiLDRiiN,
4 January, 1S93,

-dtK

^"^^Si

'.^ w

^ A ...-.

''ELOCUTIONARY manual: '
THE

PRINCIPLES

ELOCUTION,

WITH

EXERCISES AND NOTATIONS

PRONUNCIATION, INTONATION, EMPHASIS, GESTURE
AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION.

ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELL,

Author of ^^Visibub Bpxsoh," **Pbinoiplx8 of Spkboh and DionoNABT or
SoxTNDS," ** Emphasizbx> Litubot," ^^Stakbabd Elooutiohibi,"

**EflSAT8 AND FO8TSOBIPTB on EiX>OTTTION," **LKCTT7BS8

on Phonbtios," "Enousb Linb-
Wbitzno," &C., &C., &C.

FIFTH EDITION,

BXYIBBD and ENIjABOXD.

IVathington, D. C: New York:

JOHN C. PARKER. EDGAR S.f WERNER.

Boston : '

JAMES P. BURBANK.

I'hl^'

4 January, 1892.

From the Library of
THOMAS HILL, D.U

■'■-^ Copyright, i88jr,>y
Alrxandbr M9(.vuxs Bbll.

GIBSON BROS.

raiNTERS AND BOOKBINOEM
WASHINGTTON, D. C.

PREFACE.

In this fifth edition of the " Principles of Elocu-
tion " all the directions and exercises have been again
revised, and to a great extent re- written. Much new
matter has also been added, including the entire series
of "Reading Exercises marked for Emphasis,
Clause, and Pitch" (pp. 145 to 156). The work is
now as perfect as the Author's best efforts can make
it. In this form, therefore, it has been for the first
time electrotyped in preparation for continued and ex-
tended use.

1525 Thirty-Fifth Strrbt,

Washington, D. C,

September, 1887.

Extracts from Former Prefaces.

First Edition.

In the preparation of this Work the Author has endeavoured to
write not merely for the use of pupils, to whom a defective
description in the book may be orally supplemented in the
class-room, but for those to whom such additional instruc-
tion is not and cannot be available. How far he has succeeded
in this remains to be proved. He has studied to preserve the
utmost simplicity of arrangement, and to avoid overloading-
principles by unnecessary rules. He has not followed in the
steps of any preceding writer, either as to his Theory or his plan
of developing it; but he has observed Nature for himself, and
recorded his observations after his own fashion. The Science of
Elocution seemed to him to want an A B C, and he has endeav-
oured to supply the deficiency.

Edinburgh, November^ 1849.

Second Edition.

Two years ago the Author published his " New Elucidation
of the Principles of Speech and Elocution," — z. work which has
been so favourably received among Critics, and so rapidly dis-
posed of, that he has been induced to prepare an Elocutionary
Manual adapted for use in classes, as well as for private students.

This Volume may be considered as a Second Edition (but en-
tirely re-written) of the Elocutionary Sections of the larger work.
The Fundamental Theories, and the Details of Articulation and
Defective Speech are condensed ; the Principles of Orthoepy,
Vocalization, and the Art of Reading, more copiously illustrated ;
and a full Practical Treatment of the subject of Gesture has
been added ; besides an extensive Collection of Poetical and
Dramatic Quotations marked for Exercise in Expressive Reading.

All the Extracts are alphabetically collected in one general
Index in the Table of Contents, so as to form a Dictionary of
Emotive Quotations : and the Table of Contents, generally, is
arranged as a minute Reference-Index to the subjects treated of
in the Volume.

The Author has to acknowledge his obligations to his father,
Alex. Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, London; and to his
brother, D. C Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, Dublin, for
their critical perusal of this Work in its progress through the
Press. .

Edinburgh, 1852.

EXTRACTS FROM FORMER PREFACES. V

Third Edition.

In the present Edition the whole of the Notations have been
revised, and manj' new paragraphs have been added in each
Division of the Work. The Introductory Essay and the Section
on Emphasis are entirely new, and a large number of additional
Exercises and Illustrations have been given under the various
Heads of Inflexion, Expressive Exercises, Gesture. The Work
will now, it is hoped, be found still more worthy of the flattering
encomiums it has received from the Press and the Professional
Public.

Edinburgh, 1859.

Fourth Edition.

The Third Edition of the " Elocutionary Manual" having
been for some time out of print, and the work being still in steady
demand, the Author has been induced to prepare a New Edition,
with the improvements suggested by his long experience. Such
a duty he cannot hope to be again called on to undertake ; and,
as his •* Principles of Elocution" — first published in 1849 —
have had a manifest influence on subsequent elocutionary litera-
ture, he desires to extend and i>erpetuate that influence by a final
revision of the Theories and Exercises, which were the fruit of
original study and observation thirty years ago.

Tutelo Heights, Brantford,

Ontario, Canada, July, 1878.

CONTENTS.

Introductory Essay
Directions for Using this Work

Par. Page.

I
15

PART FIRST.— PRONUNCIATION.
I. General Principles ....
Definition of Speech
The Instrument of Speech

Elocution

II. Principles of Respiration

The relation of breath to speech .
The acts of inspiration and expiration
Confidence dependent on respiration

Respiratory Exercises.
Prolonged vocalization .
Frequent inhalation .
Salutary nature of these exercises
To strengthen weak respiration
Proper time for exercise
III. Principles of Vocalization

Mechanical formation of voice
Variations of pitch

Vocal energy

Huskiness

Oral modifications of quality
rV. Principles of Vowel Formation
Illustrative experiment .
Organs of vowel modification .
Labio-lingual vowels — foreign
Varieties of lingual vowels
English vowel scheme and numerical

notation

The terms ** long " and ** short " .

Vowel Exercises.
Illustrations of the various modes of
orthography of the English vowels
V. Anglicisms of Vowel Sound .

Characteristic formation of A and O
Peculiarities associated with R .
VI. Scotticisms of Vowel Sound

Numerical notation of examples
VII. Hibernicisms of Vowel Sound
Numerical notation of examples

I
2-6

7-8

9-10

11-19

21-22
23
24

27-28
29
30
31

32-33

34-35

36-37

40-43
44-45

47-68

70-76

77-97
98-109

34
37

VIII

CONTENTS.

VIII. Americanisms of Vowel Sound

Numerical notation of examples

Nasal quality

IX. Distinction Between Vowels and
Articulations ...

Sounds of Y and W
X. Exercises in Vowel Notation .

Phonetic directions

Poem for marking — *• Thought and
Deed''

Words for marking . . - .

Key to the exercises for marking
XI. The Aspirate H . . . .

English irregularities

Northern peculiarity

Oratorical ** . . .

Silent H

XII. Articulations (Consonants)

Breath and voice varieties

Obstructive and continuous do. .

Three modes of articulation .

First mode — Complete contact .

Nasal elements ....

Second mode— Partial contact .

Third mode — Approximation

Trills

General scheme of articulations .

English articulations .

Phonetic table of articulations

XIII. Principle of Distinctness

XIV. Defects of Articulation

Relative positions of the oral organs
Labial expressiveness
XV. Anglicisms of Articulation .

Sounds of R, Y, W, K, G .
XVI. Scotticisms of Articulation

Sounds of R, L, Ng, T, Th, H, Wh

XVII. HiBERNICISMS OF ARTICULATION

Sounds of P, T, K, L, S .
XVIII. Americanisms of Articulation .
Sounds of R
XIX. Syllabic Quantity ....
Degrees of quantity in elements
The liquids— L, M, N, Ng .
Degrees of quantity in combinations
XX. Difficult Combinations

Sounds of pt, kt . . .
Exercises on difficult words
Exercises on difficult phrases and sen<
tences

Par.

iio~ii8
119

120-123

124-125

126

128-129

131
132

133
134

137
138

139

140

I4I-I42

143
144

Page.
38

39
40

148
153

161-163
164

165-168

169-176

177-180

181-182

183

184

186-188

190
191

192-193

50
SI

53
54
55
56
56

CONTENTS. IX

Par. Page.

XXI. Accent or Syllabic Stress . . 60

Secondary accents .... 195

Table of verbal accents . . . 197-198

Principles of accentuation . . 199-201

False accents in poetry . . . 202

Sentential accents .... 203

Transposition of accent for emphasis 204-205

PART SECOND.— INTONATION AND CLAUSING.

I. General Principles .... 65
Essential characteristics of speaking

tones 1-2

Tones constitute a natural language . 3

Reading and speaking tones . . 4

II. Mechanism of the Inflexions . . 66

Simple and compound inflexions . 5

Diagram of simple inflexions . . 6

Pitch and extent of the inflexions 7-12

Analysis of compound inflexions . 13-14

Diagram of compound inflexions 15

III. Notation of the Inflexions . . 68

Four degrees represented . . 17

Plaintive tones 18

rv. Preparatory Pitch .... 69

A principle of opposition . . . 19-20

V. Expressiveness of the Inflexions 69

Logical expressiveness . . . 21-22

Sentimental expressiveness . • 23-24

Gamut of Inflexions, 71
VI. Exercises on the Inflexions . . 72
Words with initial accents . . 27
Words with pre-accentual syllables . 28-29
Sentences with tones marked . 30
VII, Resume of Principles of Mechanism,
Melody and Meaning of the In-
flexions 73

VIII. Principles of Verbal Grouping . 74
Stages of Verbal Grouping,

1. Articles 33

2. Prepositions .... 34

3. Pronouns with verbs ... 35

4. Pronouns with nouns . . 36

5. Auxiliary verbs .... 37

6. Adverbs with adjectives or adverbs 38

7. Adjectives with nouns ... 39

8. Conjunctions .... 40

9. The verb "to be" . . . 41

10. Adverbs with verbs ... 42

11. Objects or complements of verbs . 43

12. Complemental clauses ... 44

CONTENTS.

Par. Page.

IX. Punctuation and Pausing .

Clausing not regulated by commas, etc 45

The marks of punctuation ... 46

Where pauses are required . . 47-48

Example : — "Thunder-storm among
the Alps ** 49

X. Emphatical Disjunctions op Words
XI. Staccato Pronunciation .

Importance of clausular reading . 53

XII. Passages for Exercise in Clausing .

{For a List 0/ the Passages^ see '* Generai Index of Extracts. **)

XIII. Application of Principles of Inflex-
ion TO Sentences

Two fundamental principles . . 54

1. Rising progression connects . 55

2. Falling progression disconnects 56
Three forms of sentences ... 57

I. Assertive sentences . . 58

• 2. Interrogative sentences . . 59

3. Imperative sentences . . 60
XrV. Analysis of Sentences

Subjects, predicates and circumstances 61-68
Complemental and independent clauses 69
Subjects and predicates must be dis-
tinctly prominent .... 70
Absolute and conditional predicates 72
Example of sentential analysis . 98
XV, Varieties of Interrogative Sen-
tences

Inflexion not governed by construc-
tion 73

Questions referring to the facts in a

sentence 74

Questions not referring to the facts in

a sentence 75-7^

Questions repeated or echoed . 77

Elliptical questions .... 79

Questions connected by "or" . 80

Interrogative sentences ending with

similes, etc 81

XVI. Governing and Dependent Words

Examples 83

XVII. Series

XVIII, RESUMfe of Leading Principles of
Sentential Intonation
Exercise on Sentential Inflexions . 104

82
83

84
94

102
102
103

CONTENTS. Xr

PART THIRD.— MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE
DELIVERY.

Modulation — what it includes

Pitch — where changes are necessary 2-3

Notation of Pitch .... 5

Force — its notation ... 6

Time — its notation .... 7

Where changes of Force and Time

are necessary 8

Effectiveness of variations . . 9

Expressive Quality — what it includes

Necessity of sentiment in reading 1 1

Elements of Expressivb Quality

AND their Notation
Recapitulative Table of Notations
FOR Inflexion, Pitch, Force,
Time, and Expression .
Marked Exercises in Expressivb
Reading

I'^ora Litto/th4 Passages, see ** General Index qf Extraett")

PART FOURTH.— EMPHASIS.
I. General Princples ....

Kindred nature of accented emphasis 1-2
The new idea emphatic ... 3
Accentual effect of priority of words 4
Relative value of the " parts of speech " 5-7
Principal and accessory parts of sen-
tences 8

Separate delivery of clauses . . 9
Antithesis involved in emphasis . 10
Suggested antithesis the most em-
phatic II

II. Example of Emphatic Analysis —
^^ Lines on ike Burial of Sir John

Moore"

III. Repetitions

rv. Reading Exercises marked for Em-
phasis, Clause, and Pitch .

(For a List of the Passages ^ see *' General Index 0/ Extracts")

V. RbsumIs of the Principles of Senten-
tial Accent or Emphasis .

VI. Passages for Exercise in the Selec-
tion of Emphatic Words .

(/(W a iist of the Passages, see " Gene* a/ Index of F.xtracts.*')

Key to the emphatic words in the fore-
going extracts

Key to the emphatic words in ** Thun-
der-storm among the Alps " .

Par. Page.
107

10^

135

165
164-

XII CONTENTS.

Par. Page,

PART FIFTH.—LOOKS AND GESTURES.
I. General Principles .... 165

Gesticulation necessary to effective

oratory i

Natural order of passionate expression 2
II. Expressiveness of the Different

Facial and Bodily Motions . 165

The features 3

The eyebrows 4

The eyes 5

The nostrils 6

The lips 7

The mouth 8

The head 9

The arms 10

The hands 11

The fingers 12

The body 13

The lower limbs .... 14

The feet 15

III. Summary of the General Principles

OF Gesticulative Expression .

IV. Principles of Grace

The eye 17

The head 18

The arms 19-21

The hand 22-24

The fingers 25

The weight of the body ... 26

The square of the body ... 27

The feet 28-29

Turning 30

Kneeling 31

Bowing 32

Standing before a rail ... ^^

Holding a book 34

Sitting 35

V. Relative Positions of the Hand and
Arm in Motion ....
Illustrative diagrams

Exercises on the principle ... 39-40
VI. Application of Gesture .

Inexpressive motions to be avoided . 41
Repose to be studied ... 42
Frequency of gesture .... 43
Tautology of gesture ... 44
Directive gestures — their pictorial ar-
rangement 45-48

Illustrative gestures . . . 49-50

Emotive gesticulation ... 51

170
170

173
174

176

CONTENTS.

XIII

Bodily harmony in gesture
Colloquial and oratorical gestures .

VII. Examples of the Application of

Gesture

Lochinvar

Hamlefs Meditation on Death .
Death of Marmion
Orator's First Speech in Parliament
Rustic Logic

VIII. Notation of Gesture.

Diagram of positions of the feet .
Notation of positions of the feet
Notation of positions of the arms .
Diagram of positions of the arms
Graceful and passionate transitions
IX. General Scheme of Notation for

Attitude and Motion.
The feet, lower limbs, and trunk .

The arms

The hands . . ' .

Parts of the body on which the hands

may be placed

The head and face ....
X. Order of Symbolic Arrangement .

Recapitulative table of symbolic letters
XI. Illustrations of the Notation of

Gesture

Macbeth to the dagger-vision
Marco Bozzaris ....

PART SIXTH.— THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.
Comparative rarity of illustrations .
Emphasized Exercises in the Lan-
guage OF Passion
{.For a List o/tht Passages, see " General Index qf Extracts**)

Par. Page.
53

i8a
180
182

183
184

185
186.

58
59-^1

62-64

65
66
67

68
69

187

i8a

19a

192
192
194

197
198.

GENERAL INDEX OF EXTRACTS.

Prose passages are distinguished by an asterisk (*).

Page.

Absorbing Love . . . 198

Actions 113

Admiration 198

Admonition to Consist-
ency 198

A Dream 198

Adulation 145

Advice 199

Page.

Affection 199

Affectionate Remembrance, 199"

Age*s Sorrow
Ambition ....
Ambition Dissatisfied
Ambition Repented .
Ambitious Rivalry . .
An Ancient Temple .

"3.

200"

114

84-

xrv

CONTENTS.

Page.

Ancestry ii4

Anecdote *i5o

Anger .... ♦Ss, 115, 2cx)
Angry Surprise . . . 200
Animal Enjoyment . . 84
An Orator's First Speech 183
Antiquarian Rapture . . 145

Apparition 201

Apprehension .... 20T
Assumed Bluntness . . 201

Authority 201

Avarice 115

Avaricious Age ..... 202
Battle Alarm .... 146

Battle Array 146

Beauty ... 115, 146, 202

Bereavement 202

Blindness . . . .115, 157
Boastful Challenge . . 203
Burial of Sir John Moore, 137

Charity 115, 203

Cheerfulness . . . ♦85, 203
Cheerful Piety .... •157

Childhood ♦lie

Claims of Kindred . . 146
Close of a Guilty Career 204
Commentators .... 116

Confidence 204

Conflicting Passions, 117, 204
Consolation in Misfortune,*i57
Constancy . . . .147, 205
Constancy in Virtue . 85

Contempt n6

Contemptuous Fortitude 147
Contemptuous Reproach 205
Contentment . . ♦85, ♦157

Contradiction .
Corruption . . .

Courage

Courageous Defeat
Courteousness . . .
Courtiers ....
Cowardly Surrender
Crafty Advice . .
Crafty Malignity . .

Critics

Death

Death of Marmion .
Defiance ....
Desert

205
117
117
147
"158
147
147
206
206

206
183
148
"118
Desire and Dread of Death, 206

Page.

Desire of Distinction . . 86

Desires Unlimited . . •86
Despair . . . 118, 148, 207

Desperate Conflict . . 148

Disappointed Envy . . 207

Discrimination .... 118

Disdainful Scorn . . . 208

Disgust 208

Disinterested Love . . 208

Dissembled Love . . . 208

Distinctions .... •119

Distraction 119

Distrust 209

Dominion 119

Employment .... 86

Emotions *ii9

Emulation in Gentility . ^209

Encouragement. . . . 210

Energetic Effort ... 119
Envious Contempt . .210

Envy 120

Equality of Men . . . •158

Error . 148

Error and Ignorance
Eventful Epochs . .
Evil Conscience
Evil Speaking . . .
Exalted Misery . .
Exasperation ...

Exculpation 211

Exercise ^80

Exhortation against Am-
bition 212

Exhortation to Courage 213

Existence 120

Ex-Officio Endowments 121

Experience 121

Faith 121

Faithful Prayer .... 159

Fame 121, 148

158
♦76
120
♦158
211
120

Farewell to Greatness
Fear of Death . . .

Fidelity

Figurative Language

Flowers

Forgiveness . . .
Forgiving Disposition
Fortitude ....

Fortune

Fortune's Frolics
Fruitless Resolutions

213

121

♦159

♦160

122

160

CONTENTS.

Page.

Grateful Recognition . i6o

Gratitude 214

Greatness . . . • . 122
Greed of Praise .... 149

Grief 214

Guilty Conscience . . . 214
Hamlefs Soliloquy on

Death 182

Hasty Anger .... 86

Hatred 215

Hearts i'22

Honesty True Nobility . 215

Honour ♦215

Hope Personified . . . 149
Human Enjoyments . 149
Human Knowledge . . 149
Human Life . . . ♦Sy, 122
Human Progress . . . ♦yS
Human Wretchedness . 123

Humility ♦87

Hunting 149

If. ♦123

Ignorant Criticism . . •216

Imitation ♦123

Incredulous Horror . . 216

Indifference ♦217

Indignant Contrast . . 217
Indignation . . . . 150, 217

Industry 87

Ingratitude 123

Innocence 87

Insect Life •124

Interrogation . . . . ♦124

Jealousy 217

Joy .' . 218

Justification *2i8

King Lear 150

Kingly Power .... 125
Knowledge and Wisdom 160
Landing of an Army. . 150

Laughter 218

Law 150

Laziness 125

Leadership 151

Liberality ^87

Liberty 87

Life 125

Light ♦SS

Lights and Shades . . 125

Listening 219

Listening to Distant Music, 219

Page.

Living Merit 88

Lochinvar 180

Love 88

Lovers 126

Lovers* Studies .... •126

Lowliness of Mind . . 220
Ludicrous Distress . . *Z26

Macbeth to the Dagger 192
Malicious Revenge . . ^220

Man 126, 161

Marco Bozzaris .... 194

Martyrs 126

Maternal Love .... 220

Melancholy Reflections 221

Mercy 221

Method 127

Might of Mercy ... 88

Misdirected Efforts . . 151

Misery in Royalty . . . 222

Misfortune 151

Misfortunes ♦89

Moodiness 89

Murder 127

Music 222

Music and Language . . 151

Mutability of Love . . 223

Mutual Dependence . . *89

Natural Freedom ... 223

Night 89

Occupation •89

On Literary Extracts . . •161

Outcry 151

Parish Common . . . 127

Parting •128

Patriotic Resolve . . . 152

Peasant Life .... 152

Perversity 224

Philosophy and Religion *90

Pily 224

Politeness ♦161

Potency of Courage . . 90

Poverty 225

Power of Music. . . . 152

Prayer 128, 225

Prayer and Submission . 90

Progress in Guilt ... 90

Precedents 152

Prosperity ♦129

Proud Independence . . 225

Raving *226

Reasoning 129

XVI

CONTENTS.

Page.

Rebellion 226

Reflection •129

Regretful Pity ^227

Rejecting Counsel . . . 227
Remembered Love . . 228
Remembrance .... 77
Remonstrance — with In-
dignation 228

Remorse for committing

Murder 228

Remorse for Drunkenness, *229

Remorseful Horror . . 229
Reproach with want of

Friendship 230

Reproach with want of

Manliness ..... 230
Reproach with Stupidity

and Inconstancy . . . 230

Reproof of Servility . 231

Results 129

Retrospection .... 152

Revelation ♦So

Ridiculous Deference . 129

Rustic Logic 184

Sad Foreboding ... 231

Sadness of Night ... 90

Sarcastic Expostulation 232

Scorn 232

Second-hand Fame . . 153

Selfish Hatred .... 232

Self-Knowledge . . . *90

Self- Satisfaction . . . 161

Separation 153

Shipwreck 153

Shuffling Refusal . . 233

Sickness 233

Signs of Love . . . 130

Slavery ...... ♦130

Sleep 153

Solitude 154

Sorrow causing Forget-

fulness 233

Sounds of an Army . . 154

Sounds of Morning . . 154

Sources of Calamity . 90

Sources of Error . . . ♦91

Spasmodic Emotion 130

Stability of Nature . . 78

Stairs to Marriage . . ♦130

Standards of Character . 154

Stern Reproach . . . 234

Stillness 155

Page.

Success 91

Sullenness 234

Sunset ...... 79

Suspicion 235

Sympathy 130

Sympathy — with Admir-
ation \ 235

Teachers ♦132

Tears 131

Temper ♦162

Terror *236

Terrors of Death . . . 236

The Common Lot . . 91

The Falling Leaf ... 132

The Fine Arts .... *76

^he Firmament ... 77

The Gospel .... *9i

The Grave 91

The Hunted Deer . . 15^

The Passing Chase . . 155

The Secret of Content . ^75

Thoughts *92

Thought and Deed . . 41

I'hreatened Revenge . . 237

Ties of Love . . ... 237

Time * 131, 162

To the Butterfly ... 162

True Courage .... 132

True Greatness . . . *75

Truth ^92

Tyranny 92

Tyranny of Vice ... 92
Uncertainty of To-morrow 92

Untold Love 237

Upbraiding with Want

of Duty 238

Valour 239

Variety of Endowments . *92

Vegetation 162

Vengeance 239

Virtue 93^ 240

Virtuous Promptitude . 93

Voices of Night ... 93

War 74» *93

Warning 240

Well-doing 93

Wisdom ^93

Wisdom of the Deity . . *i32

Wiseacres 155

Wit 133, 163

Woman 94» ^33

Youth 156

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

Elocution does not occupy the place it reasonably
ought to fill in the curriculum of education. The causes
of this neglect will be found to consist mainly of these
two : the subject is undervalued, because it is misunder-
stood ; and it is misunderstood because it is unworthily
represented in the great majority of books, which take its
name on their title page ; and, also by the practice of too
many of its teachers, who make an idle display in Recita-
tion the chief, if not the only, end of their instruction.

When we point to the fact, that public speaking is a part
of the professional duty of every Clergyman and Advo-
cate, and no unusual part of the social duty of a private
citizen ; and that Public Speaking involves two distinct
requirements, — si knowledge of what to say, and how to
say it ; and when we farther advert to the fact, that in the
whole course of school and college education, either for
private citizens or public speakers, only one of these re-
quirements is systematically provided for, the inadequacy
of the provision to the requirements cannot but be mani-
fest. We naturally ask, "why is this?" The reason,
perhaps, may simply be, that so it is ! We are all slaves
of custom, and cannot, without much difficulty, be brought
to alter existing arrangements, however unreasonable.
We are too apt to lazily acquiesce in things as they are,
however wrong, and passively accept the doctrine that
*' whatever is, is right."

2 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

But, besides this natural conservatism, this unreason ,
which is the principal cause of the maintenance of all
error, there is another cause which is indeed a reason for
the anomaly referred to, although the reason itself will be
admitted to be unreasonable : a prejudice exists against
the cultivation of manner in Delivery. Prejudice, — that
Reason's very opposite, — denounces manner as if it was
a thing of no matter. "Manner" and "Matter" are
spoken of as antagonists in Oratory. But what is matter
without manner? Matter is the native unquarried rock ;
Manner is the chiseled statue, or the sculptured palace.
Matter is the chaos "without form and void" when
" darkness brooded over the face of the earth ; " Manner
is the rolling globe launched in the flood of light, and
beautified with hill and dale, ocean and streamlet, herb,
and tree, and flower. Manner is the manifestation of all
matter ; and no matter can be known but by the manner
of its presentment.

This is equally true of intellectual as of physical ma-
terial. The matter of the finest oratory may lie hidden
within the brain, worthless and unappreciated ; as the
marble of that sweetest creation of the sculptor — the
" Greek Slave" — lay buried in its native hill, till Powers
arose that could unveil its symmetry and grace. And it
depends entirely on the speaker's skill, — his power over
manner — ^whether he fashion his matter into a paving
stone or a Medicean Venus. ;

But this prejudice has a moral root from which it de-
rives all its vitality: — "The eloquence that fascinates
may be employed to dazzle and seduce. It may be used
to make the worse appear the better reason." True, but
the greater the attractiveness of Eloquence for purposes
of mere amusement, or for more unholy ends, the stronger
is the reason and the more imperative the duty to master
its refinements, and utilize its influence in all good and
sacred causes.

The adage cannot be too ofl:en repeated that whatever
is worth doing at all, is worth doing well ; and we may
add, the worthier any object of effort, the higher should
be the standard of eflScient execution. Slovenliness is
intolerable in the meanest business. How much more

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 3

SO in the highest, and especially in that which has an aim
beyond all earthly objects !

But by whom is this prejudice entertained? Who are
they that shake the head at oratorical refinement in the
pulpit, and denounce preparatory study of ' ' manner " as
' ' theatrical ? " Are they the eloquent of the Church, the
ornaments of their profession, speakers refined by culture,
or endowed with natural powers of eloquence ? No !
They are those only who are themselves destitute of any
pretensions to efiectiveness. No man who is conscious
of the ability to speak effectively can undervalue the
power, and none who is not competent in this respect,
can judge of its value or pronounce it worthless.

The study of Oratory is, however, hindered by another
prejudice, founded — too justly — on the ordinary methods
and results of elocutionary teaching ; the methods being
unphilosophical and trivial, and their r^ult not an im-
proved manner, but an induced mannerism . The principle
of instruction to which Elocution owes its meanness of
reputation may be expressed in one word, — Imitation.
The teacher presents his pupils with a model or specimen
of reading or declamation, and calls on them to stand forth
and do likewise. The model may be good, bad, or indif-
ferent ; it is, at all events, tinged with the teacher's own
peculiarities, and the pupils, in their imitative essays, can
hardly be expected to distinguish between these accidents
of style and the essentials of good delivery which may
be embodied in the model. Thus, becoming accustomed
to imitate the former, they naturally confouild them with
the latter. Each pupil, too, has his own peculiarities,
already more or less developed — arising from structural
differences in the organs of speech, from temperament, or
from habit, — the result of previous training or of previous
neglect. These fixed idiosyncrasies and tendencies, min-
gled with the imitated peculiarities, form a compound
style, which, whatever its qualities, can hardly fail to be
unnatural. Besides, as imitation is in a great degree an
unconscious act, habits are thus formed of the existence
of which the subject of them is entirely ignorant. In no
other way can we account for those monstrous perversions
of style which are so common, and so patent to all but,

4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

apparently, the speakers themselves. Th^ very purpose
of a philosophical system of instruction should be — to give
us a standard by which to measure our own shortcomings
and, primarily, by which we can discover them.

But it may be urged by adherents of the imitative
methods of instruction, that they do not teach by imita-
tion alone ; that they teach by Rule, and merely illustrate
rules by their model readings, in imitating which the pu-
pils consciously apply the rules. There has been far too
much of this teaching by "Rules" in all departments of
education. The rules of nature are few and simple, at
the same time extensive and obvious in their application.
These are Principles rather than rules, and it is the
highest business of philosophy to find out such. Princi-
ples alone are worthy of the student's care. These he
cannot too perfectly " learn and con by rote." But the
rules of elocutionary books are not of this kind. The
latter are cumbersome in number, limited in application
to certain forms of grammatical construction, and very
far from obvious in their use. Some principle must be
involved in every i*ule. Rules are but logical deductions
from understood principles ; and, often, a single principle
will be found to underlie a whole category of rules. If
Principles are understood, the mind will deduce rules for
itself, but the knowledge of the most elaborate code of
rules may be possessed without acquaintance with a sin-
gle principle. Besides, in actual practice, rules cannot
be applied. They keep the mind in leading-strings which
prevent self-effort, and destroy natural freedom, being
rather fetters than assistances to one who has learned to
walk alone. For instance, a certain movement of voice
implies incompleteness of statement, and its mechanical
opposite implies completeness. A knowledge of this sim-
ple Principle involves at once a knowledge of more than
half the rules for Inflexion with which Elocutionists have
bewildered their students. The mind can grasp this
principle and carry it along without effort through all the
complexities and involutions of composition ; but if, in-
stead of this, the student is made to learn all the possible
arrangements of words in sentences, and to apply a separate
^ ' Rule " for each new form , he can never bring his rules into

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 5

spontaneous application. He may apply them, or fancy
that he applies them, in the reading of selected sentences,
but beyond this he cannot carry them a step without feel-
ing them an incumbrance and a hindrance to mental
action. Constant thinking of inflection proves fatal to
reflection. What a student chiefly requires to know, is
how to vary his voice ; if his own judgement and apprecia-
tion of the sense, in connection with defined principles,
do not inform. him when to do so, the most minute direc-
tion by Rules will be of little service. The mechanics
of expression are what he must master, if he would use
and manifest his mind in reading ; but he must be unfet-
tered in their application, in order that he may develop
and improve his manner without acquiring the formality
of mannerism.

Elocutionary Exercise is popularly supposed to consist
merely of Recitation, and the fallacy is kept up both in
schools and colleges, where Elocution is said not to be
wholly neglected, because an hour is occasionally set apart
for a competitive display of the declamatory powers of the
pupils or students. This is a miserable trifling with an
art of such importance, — an art that embraces the whole
Science of Speech, as well as sentimental expression.
With as much justice might it be said that music was
attended to, if a class were called on once or twice a
w^eek, or half a dozen times a session, to whistle a popu-
lar air in competition for a prize. Music is both a Science
and an Art. So is Elocution ; and such an amount of at-
tention as is limited to the occasional " spouting" of pas-
sages learned anywhere or anyhow, is to Elocution merely
what whistling is to music. The cultivated orators of old
esteemed Delivery the chief of all the arts of Oratory, and
they "being dead yet speak to us : " and they should do so
with authority, for the letter of their eloquence is still the
model in our colleges. We admire the orations of Demos-
thenes : so did contemporary judges ; but they tell us that
truly to appreciate these compositions we must have heard
them ! How would the Grecian " Thunderer" esteem our
modern wisdom, in practically reversing, as we do, the rel-
ative importance of writing and of speaking well ! Ora-
tory, doubtless, is not now an art of such high consequence

O INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

as it was before the invention of the printing press, and the
general diffusion of knowledge through its blessed agency;
but the sphere of oratorical influence, though narrowed, is
yet large, and within that sphere the value of an effective
Delivery is as preponderating as it ever was.

Oratory was of old a very comprehensive subject, and
its study was the labour of a life. It included almost every
department of general knowledge, and mental and moral
discipline, as well as Pronunciation, or what we now call
Elocution or Delivery. The latter department was the one
most sedulously cultivated, as being that on which all the
rest depended for successful exhibition. Hoary hairs were
considered indispensable to the consummate orator, that
his manner might be duly refined with that art which hides
itself; and also because his laborious preparations were
supposed to require the length and vigour of the youth and
prime of life. Consistently with this, Oratory was em-
blematized under the figure of an Old Man, threads of
amber issuing from his lips, and winding into the ears of
deferential auditors. Our modern orators expect to jump
into the rostrum and oratorical ability at once, and with-
out preparation even for the primary requisite of public
speaking — distinct Pronunciation. They expect to find
the amber in their mouths, born with them ; — like Dog-
berry, who thought that "to write and read comes by na-
ture." They expect to drop the native substance from their
lips — as the princess in the fairy tale did pearls — at every
opening. But men are not orators by birth, and the am-
ber of eloquence is seldom found save as the rich deposit
of assuetude and science.

Elocution may be defined as the effective expres-
sion OF THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT, by Speech, Intona-
tion, and Gesture. Speech is wholly conventional in its
expressiveness, and mechanical in its processes. Intonar-
tion and gesture constitute a Natural Language, which
may be used either independentiy of, or as assistant to,
speech. Speech, in all the diversities of tongues and dia-
lects, consists of but a small number of articulated element-
ary sounds. These are produced by the agency of the lungs,
the larynx, and the mouth. The lungs supply air to the
larynx, which modifies the stream into whisper or voice ;

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 7

and this air is then moulded by the plastic oral organs into
syllables, which, singly or in accentual combinations, con-
stitute words. These words are arbitrarily appropriated
to the expression of ideas, and thus we have Language, —
variously intelligible in every community, but the same in
its elements, throughout the world.

Elocution, as it involves the exercise of language, must
embrace the Physiology of Speech — the mechanics of vo-
calization and articulation. A knowledge of the conven-
tional meanings of words is of course also implied, but
this may be obtained independently of Elocution, in the
modern sense of the term . The student of Elocution, then,
should be made acquainted with the instrument of speech,
as an instrument^ that all its parts maybe under his con-
trol, as the stops, the keys, the pedals, and the bellows,
are subject to the organist. These principles of Instru-
mentation are equally applicable to all languages, and the
student who has mastered them, in connection with his
vernacular tongue, will apply them to the pronunciation
of any foreign language witlji which he may become ac-
quainted. \

Elocution has also a special application to the language
or dialect employed, that the elements and vocables of
each may be pronounced according to its own standard
of correctness ; — that being correct in one which is incor-
rect in another. Thus, in the elocution of the northern
British, the Irish, the New England and other American
dialects of our tongue — for all dialects may have their elo-
cution, or effective utterance — the vowels a and o, and the
lettej r, have different pronunciations from those which
obtain in the southern dialects of England. The student
of elocution should be capable of discriminating these and
all similar differences. He should not be enslaved to the
peculiarities of any dialect ; he may, when occasion re-
quires, speak English like an Englishman, Scotch like a
Scotchman, and Irish like an Irishman ; but his reading
should not be imbued with the characteristics of Irish, of
Scotch, or of any local pronunciation, when he delivers
the language of Shakespeare, of Milton, or of Addison.

The differences that distinguish dialects are quite sus-
ceptible of assimilation to any standard. Just as a piece

8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

of music can, by a skilful player, be transposed in execu-
tion to a different key from that in which it is written, so
language can, by one skilled in the characteristics of dia-
lects, be transposed in pronunciation from one dialect
into another.

But local peculiarities manifest themselves in varieties
of intonation as well as of syllabic pronunciation. As
the tones of speech have all a natural expressiveness,
there is rarely any difficulty in acquiring command over
them. The "science of sweet sounds'* can only be
effectively studied by those who have " an ear " for
music, but the expressive tones of speech can be distin-
guished and efficiently executed, even by those who are
destitute of the musical faculty. This department of elo-
cutionary discipline is of high importance, as it involves
the exercise of much judgement in discriminating the
analogies of sound to sense.

The peculiarities of tone, which characterize dialects,
consist, for the most part, of repetitions of the same
species of inflexion, clause following clause in a sort of
tune, which prevails merely by the force of habit. The
voice of every individual is apt to partake too much of a
uniformity of melody ; but we have no difficulty in un-
derstanding the intention of the speaker, notwithstanding
the sameness or the habitual fluctuations of his tones.
This proves the folly of attempting, by any set of Rules,
to impose a system of intonation as a standard for all
voices. There is scarcely a sentence which will not
admit of just expression by half a dozen, or ten times as
many, modes of vocal inflexion. What is wanted is not a
Rule for this or that species of sentence, but a poWer
over the voice generally, to redeem it from monotony ; a
knowledge of the various modes of conveying sense ; and
an appreciation of the special sense to be conveyed. To
aim at anything more than this would be to destroy the
speaker's individuality, and to substitute formality and
mannerism for versatility of natural manner. In refer-
ence to inflexion, elocutionary training has for its object
mechanical facility, and definiteness of execution, rather
than uniformity of application. It is the mistake of Mr.
Walker's, and all similar Rules, that they tend to produce

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 9

the latter result only ; one which is neither desirable nor
strictly possible, — ^which is, in fact, unnatural.

Inflexion is associated with accent, or emphatic stress,
and this is regulated by the sense to be conveyed. The
laws of emphasis form a study of the highest intellectual
value, which has been too little investigated and systema-
tized. No department of Elocution can compare with
this in importance ; yet not only has it been superseded
in books, by unnecessary Rules for Inflexion, and in
schools by thoughtless imitation, but these rules, and all
exercise founded on them, constantly violate the laws of
accent. Here is one point in which almost absolute uni-
formity must prevail among all good readers. Set prac-
tice right in respect to emphasis, and inflexion cannot
go far wrong.

Every sentence or clause is susceptible of various mean-
ings, according as its different words are rendered promi-
nent by emphasis. " There will always be some word
or words more necessary to be understood than others.
Those things which have been previously stated, or which
are necessarily implied, or with which we presume our
hearers to have been preacquainted, we pronounce with
such a subordination of stress as is suitable to the small
importance of things already understood ; while those of
which our hearers have not been before informed, or
which they might possibly misconceive, are enforced
with such an increase of stress, as makes it impossible
for the hearers to overlook or mistake them. Thus, as
it were in a picture, the more essential parts of a sentence
are raised from the level of speaking, and the less neces-
sary are, at the same time, sunk into a comparative
obscurity ! " *

How a\ykwardly ambiguous is the reading of those
who have no principle to guide them in the selection of
emphasis, — the distribution of the light and shade of
speech ! One verse of Scripture — a peculiarly difficult
one to hap-hazard readers — is rarely delivered correctly.
This is the 25th verse of the 24th chapter of the Gospel
by Luke: — "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all

* *' Practical Elocutionist." London, 1842.

lO INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

that the prophets have spoken !" The reproof conveyed
here is that the disciples addressed were " slow to be-
lieve ; " but, by a faulty clausing of the sentence, sepa-
rating these allied words, and a misplaced emphasis,
precisely the opposite censure seems to be intended : " O
fools, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets
have spoken."

It is the business of Elocution to teach the student three
things important to be known : ist. How to discover all
the meanings that any passage may embody ; 2nd, How
to express the several meanings, supposing each of them
to be just ; and, 3rd, How to ascertain the true interpre-
tation, or the sense intended by the author. In all these
processes, and especially in the last, much judgement will
manifestly be required. Indeed, it may be questioned
whether any study is more directly calculated to exercise
the mind in all its faculties than the investigation of the
precise meaning of a standard author. It is true that the
critical acumen to appreciate the sense may be possessed
without the ability to express it ; and herein is manifest
the necessity of vocal training, to give the judicious inter-
preter a command over the mechanics of expression, that
he may "make the sound an echo to the sense."

The succession of the accents in sentences constitutes
what is called Rhythm. This succession is regular in
metrical composition, and irregular in prose. The regu-
larity of rhythmus in poetry, while it favours a musical
delivery, is very apt to lead the voice into a tuneful move-
ment, where music is not intended ; and the result is that
nauseating intermixture of the tones of speaking and of
singing which is denoted canting or sing-song. There can
be no doubt that the school methods o( scannings and of
reading poetry by the line, are directly productive of this
worst and most prevailing oratorical taint. It is but rarely
that a reader can be found whose voice is entirely free
from this blemish ; and the habit is speedily extended from
poetry to prose, so that the expressive irregularity of pro-
saic rhythm is entirely lost in the uniformity of time to
which the reader's voice is set. Pinned, as it were, on
the barrel of an organ, his accents come precisely in the
same place at every sentential revolution, striking their

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. II

emphasis, at one turn, upon a pronoun or a conjunction,
and, at another, impinging sonorously on an article or
an expletive.

" 'Tis education forms the infant mind ;

Just as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined."

The little green twigs in the Grammar School are sedu-
lously bent into the barrel-organ shape, and pegged to
play their destined tune by systematic teaching ; and when
the tiny twig-barrel has swelled into a full-grown cylinder,
and rolls forth its cadences in far-sounding pitch, the old
pegs are still there, striking the old chords in the old way.

What have children, or men either, to do, in reading,
with trochees, iambi, dactyls, amphibrachs, or anapaests.'*
They are all pests together. Scanning, or the art of
dividing verse into the '' feet" of which it is composed,
is a practice that should not be left '' a foot to stand upon."
It confounds every element of natural pronunciation, call-
ing long '' short," and short " long ;" separating the sylla-
bles of the same word, and uniting the syllables of different
words, in a way that would be almost too monstrous for
belief, were we not so habituated to the " scanning " art
from our earliest " twig "-hood, that we have great diffi-
culty in scanning its full stupidity. While this wretched
pedantry is taught in our schools, so long must our pul-
pits bring forth the normal increase of such seed, in sing-
song, drawling, and unnaturalness.

The subject of Rhythmus has been involved in much
obscurity by the way in which writers have treated of it ;
and even Elocutionists have been so far misled under the
influence of early education, as to adapt their reading ex-
ercises to the accustomed measures, and divide their sen-
tences into bars of equal time. It is difficult to characterize
the folly of such divisions as the following, quoted from
a well-known work : —

These bars are terrible bars to progress in the art of
reading— barriers of nonsense in the way of sense !

12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

The marks of punctuation are taught in schools as
measures of the pauses in reading. Children are told to
stop at all the " stops," and only at the stops, and to pro-
portion their stopping to the supposed time-value of the
stops. But the marks of punctuation have no relation to
tim .^ ; nor are they at all intended to regulate the pauses
of a reader. They have a purpose, but it is not this.
They do, in the majority of cases, occur where pauses
should be made, but they do not supply nearly the number
of pauses that good reading requires. They simply mark
the grammatical construction of a sentence. While word
follows word in strict grammatical relation, no comma is
inserted, though many pauses may be indispensable ; and
wherever any break occurs in the grammatical relation
of proximate words, there a comma is written, though,
often, a pause would spoil the sense. Commas are placed
before and after all interpolations that separate related
words — adjective and noun, adverb and adjective, pronoun
and verb, verb and object, &c. ; — but they are not written
while words follow each other in direct and mutual re^
lation. Punctuation has thus no reference to delivery;
it has no claim to regulate reading ; and nothing but ig-
norance of a better guide could have led to the adoption
of the grammatical points to direct the voice in pausing.

Some writer has happily expressed the principle of
pausing in a metrical form, which is worth committing
to memory, although the reader will find something more
definite in the section on ''Verbal Grouping:"

*' In pausing, ever let this rule take place,
Never to separate words, in any case,
That are less separable than those you join ;
And, which imports the same, not to combine
Such words together as do not relate
So closely as the words you separate."

The subject of Antithesis and the relation of antithesis
to emphasis, is one in which the Rules of Elocutionists
are not only superseded by a fundamental law, but in
which the rules are often at variance with the natural
Principle. There is a grand distinction in the expressive-
ness of the tones of speech, which has been insufficiently
attended to. The vocal inflexions are primarily two, —

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 1 3

an upward and a downward movement. These express
the sentiments of appeal to the hearer, in the rising move-
ment, and of assertion from the speaker, in the falling
turn. The union of these simple movements with one
accent, or impulse of stress, produces two compound
tones, which express the same sentiments with a sugges-
tive reference to the antithesis of the utterance. No
great observation was necessary to discover that all em-
phasis implies antithesis ; but Elocutionists have jumped
to the conclusion that the converse of this principle must
needs be likewise true, and that all antithesis implies em-
phasis. As if, because every potato is undoubtedly a
vegetable, every vegetable must of course be a potato !
Upon this false assumption, rules for the inflexion of an-
tithetic sentences have been founded, which led to a con-
stant up and down alternation of the voice on opposed
words, than which nothing can be more at variance with
the natural law of emphasis, or with its invariable mani-
festation in the spontaneous utterance of conversation. It
is only when verbal opposition is inferred and not fully
expressed, that we have a genuine instance of the figure
of Antithesis, and nature has provided us with a distinc-
tive intonation by which the antithetic idea may be un-
mistakeably suggested. When the opposition is complete
in terms, the tones of antithesis are not required, and the
emphasis follows the general law, by which the idea new
to the context, or uppermost in the speaker's mind, is
rendered prominent by mere accentual stress, and with
simple tones. It is no less true in Elocution than in
physics, that the brightest light casts the deepest shadow.
The light of emphasis on any word throws a shade of
subordination on all allied words, the darker and more
concealing in proportion to the- lustre of the emphasis.
Among speakers whose tones are adjusted by artificial
rules, we look in vain for this " night side of nature," this
shadow of the illuminated thought. Each word of every
contrasted pair of words is thrown mechanically into equal
prominence, with the effect expressed by Pope in his
*' Essay on criticism : "

** False eloquence, like the prismatic glass,
N Its gaudy colours spreads on every place."

14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

We may follow out the Poet's idea, and add a converse
couplet : —

True eloquence the lens*8 part must play,
And blend the colours in one focal ray.

With many speakers who aim at being emphatic with-
out knowing how to be so, every leading grammatical
word — noun and verb, — or every qualifying- word —
adjective and adverb — is delivered with an intensity of
stress which defeats its own object, and is as destitute of
intelligent effect as that tame and drawling monotony in
which others indulge, where nothing rises above the level
of constant dulness. Words are emphatic or otherwise,
not in virtue of their inherent grammatical rank, but of
the relation they bear to each other in the context. The
discriminating principle which marks this relation is called
accent in reference. to combinations of syllables, emphasis
in reference to groups of words, and modulation in ref-
erence to successions of sentences. But it is the same
art in all its applications, governed by the same intellectual
perception of relative proportion and comparative im-
portance.

The student is now referred to the body of the Work
for a full development of Principles. Enough has been
said 'here to prove that Elocutionary Art is something
more than merely imitative ; that it has more intellectual
exercises than the sentimental declamations usually asso-
ciated with the name ; and that, if it has been encumbered
with useless Rules, it is not destitute of guiding Principles.

DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS WORK.
To the Private Student.

When you consult a Teacher for instruction in Elocu-
tion, your attention is, for the time, limited to special
points — those in which your delivery requires correction,
or those to which the Teacher gives precedence. The
duly-qualified instructor is, of course, competent to direct
his pupils in any of the departments of his art ; but he
does not, in every case, allow his lessons to range oyer
ALL departments.

In this Book you have a teacher — prepared to give
instruction in Theory, or direction in Exercise, in any
department of the Art of Delivery : but you must, in order
to self-improvement, do for yourself what you cannot
avoid under the living teacher — namely, confine your
attention, at first, to those points in which you specially
need help, and overlook all else till they are mastered.

There is a great art in learning even from the best of
teachers. Some pupils will draw out precisely what they
require, and profit rapidly ; others — "• receptive" only, —
will, from a longer period of instruction, derive much less
advantage. The art of learning from a Book is of course
still more dependent on the student himself. The secret
of success is undoubtedly the same in both cases : attend

EXCLUSIVELY TO ONE POINT AT A TIME.

A cursory examination of the whole ground of study is
sometimes advantageous as a preliminary, — especially
when it is undertaken merely to assist in the selection of a
Department for exercise ; — but a desultory perusal of a
practical work — on such a practical subject as elocution —
can lead to no satisfactory result. Therefore : — Treat this
Book as 2iviva voce Teacher : Give heed exclusively to
the section before you : Practise the exercises prescribed,
and look neither backward nor forward until you have
mastered the Lesson in hand.

Do you belong to either of the following classes of
speakers }

I. Your voice is feeble — it is smothered — it is strained
— you are soon fatigued by vocal efTort — ^you become
hoarse — breathless — giddy — the muscles of your throat,
chest, abdomen, are rendered sore by public speaking. —

I4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

We may follow out the Poet's idea, and add a converse
Couplet ; —

True eloquence the lens's part must play»
And blend the colours in one focal ray.

With many speakers who aim at being emphatic With-
"^^^ knowing how to be so, every leading srrammaztc^

^orti Doun and verb,— or every qualifying ^?l^^

Ji^iieorive and adverb — is delivered with an intensity 01
^^^"^^=5^ w^hich defeats its own object, and is as destitute ot
^^^^^li^ent etfect as that tame and drawling monotony in
■^ - *^— ^^thers indulge, where nothing rises above the level
- -- nscmr dixlness. Words are emphatic or otherwise,
•^ -r — -nf- a±* tfaeir inherent grammatical rank, ^"^^

=^ =-^iii--r^ Ttievbear to each other in the context <> f

--inarin^ principle which marks this relation is called

-=ai^ ' -^£rE=icE:to Combinations of syllables, emphasis
- "'^^^-r=rrc:^ -3 zrnups of words, and modulation m ref-

rc^sasions of sentences. But it is the same

— -TTTP' — r-iiT^ gT->vp>mf^H by the same intellectual
proportion and comparative im-

zsy^ -EJE-red to the body of the Work

nernr r pTfnciples. Enough has been

■^ rar Zladtionary Art is something

ancmr^: tfciit it has more intellectual

Lidiinations usually asso-

UB : ::r- jf i£ fais bee n encu mber ed

£31 - ^guiding Princij

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION,

PART FIRST.

• PRONUNCIATION.

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

1. Speech is the audible result of a combination of
mechanical processes, separately under the government
of volition, and conventionally expressive of ideas.

2. As, in learning to play upon an instrument of music,
it is indispensable to be practically acquainted with its
mechanical principles, so, in studying the Art of Speech,
it is of consequence that the learner be familiar with the
structure and working of the instrument of Speech.

3. But this important fundamental knowledge is not
anatomical in its nature. The pianist does not require
to understand the arrangement of the interior of his in-
strument, — its pegs and wires, and hammers and dampers
— but to be familiar with its keys, and with the principles
of digital transition, so that he may gallop over its gamuts
without stop or stumble. The violinist does not need to
know the details of shape and fastening of the parts of
the fiddle-frame, but he must have perfect acquaintance
with the working of the pegs, the stopping of the strings,
and the drawing of the bow. The flutist does not require
any knowledge of the arts of turning and boring the
block from which his instrument is formed, or of the
mathematical calculations and nice relative measurements
which regulate the holing ; but he must thoroughly un-
derstand how to blow, to tongue, and to "govern the
ventages," so as to make it " discourse its eloquent music."
And so, the Speaker does not require to learn of how
many, and of what muscles and cartilages the larynx is

1 8 PRONUNCIATION RESPIRATION.

formed, and by what sets of" motors " and " antagonists "
the various organs of speech are influenced : such knowl-
edge may be a welcome addition to his stock of informa-
tion, but he cannot bring it into any practical use in
speaking. He should, however, comprehend clearly the
dynamic principles of the vocal instrument, and the me-
chanical means by which the various sounds and articu-
lations of speech are produced and modified.

4. The instrument of speech combines the qualities of
a wind and of a stringed instrument : voice^being produced
by means of a current of air impelled from a sort of bel-
lows — the lungs — and modified by contraction or expansion
of the voice-channels, and by tension or relaxation of the
vibrating membranes.

5. The speaking machine, while thus resembling in
certain points the organ and the violin, is characteristically
distinct from all instruments of music in its unique appa-
ratiis of Articulation; which embraces the pharynx;
the nares or nostrils ; the palates^ soft and hard ; the
tongue; the teeth; and the lips.

6. In the management of the Breath, and of the Organs
of Articulation, lie the mechanical principles with which
the speaker should be practically familiar, in order to en-
able him to use his oratorical powers healthfully, in
energetic and protracted efforts, and with ease, grace, and
precision at all times.

7. Elocution, or Delivery, comprehends, besides the
principles of salutary respiration, distinct articulation,
and correct pronunciation, those of mental and emotional
Expressiveness, by tones, gestures, &c.

8. Regulating the Expressive, as well as the Articula-
tive departments of Elocution, are various mechanical
principles with which the student should be experimentally
familiar, that he may be gracefully effective in every
effort ; in nothing giving offence to the eye or ear or taste,
or " o'erstepping the modesty of nature."

II. PRINCIPLES OF RESPIRATION.

9. Speech consists of variously modified emissions of
breath. Breath is thus the material of Speech. The

RESPIRATION. 1 9

lungs must, therefore, be well supplied with air be-
fore speech is commenced, and they must be kept so
supplied during the whole progress of speech. The very
common fault of dropping the voice feebly at the end of
a sentence, arises in great measure from a faulty habit of
respiration : and many personal inconveniences, some-
times painful and serious, accrue to the speaker, from
insufficient, too infrequent, or ill-managed respiration.

10. The amount of air ordinarily inspired for vital
wants is quite insufficient for vocal purposes. Speech
must be preceded by a deeper than common inspiration,
and sustained by replenishments of more than common
frequency.

1 1 . The lungs are supplied with air by the expansion
of the cavity of the chest ; and they are made to yield the
air they contain by its contraction from the pressure of its
walls and base.

12. The cavity of the chest is conical in form, tapering
from its muscular base, — the diaphragm, — by the ribs
and clavicle to the windpipe.

13. The chest is expanded by the bulging of the ribs,
the raising of the clavicle (or breast-bone) , and the de-
scent or flattening of the diaphragm. Expiration may be
produced either by means of the bony frame-work, or of
the muscular base of the chest. The latter is the correct
mode of vocal expiration ; the former is exhausting, and
often injurious in its consequences.

14. Too much importance cannot be attached to the
formation of a habit of easy respiration. The walls of
the chest should not be allowed to fall in speaking, but
the whole force of expiration should be confined- to the
diaphragm. Clavicular respiration is the prevailing error
of those who find speaking or reading laborious. When
the respiration is properly conducted, vocal exercise
should be unfatigiiing even thougn long continued ; and
the longer it is practised the more should it be conducive
to health.

15. The inspirations in speaking must be noiseless.
Audible suction of air is as unnecessary as it is ungrace-
ful. To avoid this fault, let the passage to the lungs be
but open, and expand the chest; the pressure of the

20 RESPIRATION.

atmosphere will then inflate the lungs to the full extent
of the cavity created within the thorax.

1 6. The common Scotch bagpipe gives an excellent
illustration of the comparative efficacy of a partial, and
of a complete inflation of the lungs. See the piper, when
the bag is only half filled, tuning the long drones : — how
his arm jerks on the wind-bag ! — ^And hear the harsh and
uneven notes that come jolting out from the pressure !
Then see him, when the sheep-skin is firmly swelled
beneath his arm : — how gently his elbow works upon it !
while the clear notes ring out with ear-splitting emphasis.
Let the public speaker learn hence an important lesson.
He but plays upon an instrument. Let him learn to use
it rationally — in consciousness, at least, of the mechanical
principles of the apparatus. For, as the instrument of
speech is more perfect than anything the hand of man
has fashioned, it surely must, when properly handled, be
" easier to be played on than a pipe !"

1 7. There is an important point of difference, however,
between the human speaking machine and artificial wind
instruments like the bagpipe or organ. These latter have
separate passages for the entrance and exit of the air,
while the instrument of speech has but one channel by
which the air is received and delivered. Through the
aperture of the glottis,* all the breath must pass both in
inhalation and exhalation. These acts must therefore be
alternate, and cannot possibly take place at the same
time ; while, in playing on artificial instruments, the air
is both drawn in and expelled simultaneously by separate
apertures.

18. Speaking being an expenditure of breath, pausing
must be regularly alternate with utterance, to supply the
waste of breath. The speaker must not exhaust his
stock before he takes a further supply, but he must aim

* The Glottis is the narrow aperture of the trachea or wind-
pipe, situated behind the root of the tongue. Its action in closing
or opening the passage to the lungs may be f^lt in coughing.
The effort that precedes the cough shuts the glottis, by contact
of its edges ; and the explosive ejection of breath in the cough
arises from the sudden opening of the glottis by the separation
of its edges.

RESPIRATION — EXERCISES. 21

at keeping up a constant sufficiency, by repeated inhala-
tions. This is the principle which the bagpipe teaches.
The most momentary pause will be found long enough
to give opportunity for adding to the contents of the
chest easily and imperceptibly.

19. A clear sonorous voice uses comparatively little
breath : consequently the purer the voice the easier the
utterance. The chest would be uncomfortably distended
if the unexpended breath were held in at pauses. Pauses
should therefore be synonymous with change of breath.

20. In addition to the power and ease that are gained
by a proper management of the respiration, the speaker
derives the further advantage of a good carriage of the
bvist. This contributes in no slight degree to give the
young orator a feeling of confidence in addressing an
audience. Fear naturally collapses, and courage expands
the chest ; and the cukivation of the habit of keeping the
chest expanded in speech imparts courage, and prevents
that perturbation of the breathing which bashfulness and
diffidence occasion to the unpractised speaker.

Respiratory Exercises,

21 . To gain the power of fully and quickly inflating the
lungs the following exercise will be useful. Prolong the
simple vowel sounds musically to the full extent of expi-
ratory power : silently replenishing the lungs and recom-
mencing the sound as expeditiously as possible. The
voice should begin softly, swell out vigorously, and then
" knit sound to silence," by the most gentle termination.
Thus:

<> <> <>

e ah aw oo, &c.

After a little practice the sound should be continued
clearly for the space of from 25 to upwards of 30 seconds.
This exercise is equally advantageous to the singer as to
the speaker.

22. The same principle of exercise in connection with
articulation may be obtained in counting". Pronounce
the numbers from one to a hundred, deliberately and dis-
tinctly, with as few breathings as possible. Note the

22 RESPIRATION — VOCALIZATION.

numbers after which the breath is inspired, and compare
the results of the exercise at different times,
^v 23. To gain the power of keeping the chest expanded
and the lungs well filled, by frequent and imperceptible
inspirations, the following exercise will be of service : —
After due preparatory elevation of the chest, pronounce
a long series of numbers with a gentle and instantaneous
expansion of the chest before each number; and con-
tinue the exercise for some minutes at a time, without a
single pause for breathing. This may be found difficult
and laborious at first, but practice will speedily impart
facility.

24. These respiratory exercises will be found of the
highest utility in cases of contracted chest or weak
LUNGS. Persons engaged in sedentary occupations, the
dyspeptic, and the convalescent, would find in them gym-
nastics of the most salutary nature, without leaving the
office or the chamber.

25. To strengthen weak respiration the practice of en-
ergetic reading in a strong loud whisper, or " gruff "
voice, will prove beneficial. Above all, exercise in the
open air will be found of advantage. The ancient rhet-
oricians practised declamation while walking or running
up a hillside before breakfast, or standing by the sea-shore,
face to the wind, and endeavoring to out-bello'w the
tempest.

26. Respiratory exercises should not be practised im-
mediately after a full meal. The distension of the stomach
prevents the free play of the diaphragm. The public
speaker should therefore be sparing before any important
oratorical effort, and defer making up the deficiency until
he has made his bow to the audience.

III. PRINCIPLES OF VOCALIZATION.

27. Voice is the name given to that sound which is
formed in the Larynx,* by the passage of the compressed

♦The Larnyx is that cartilaginous box-like structure which
surmounts the trachea, causing the protuberance in front of the
neck, known as " Adam's apple." Its aperture is a lengthened
slit, the upper extremity of which is called the superior glottis^
and the lower the inferior glottis.

VOCALIZATION. 23

air from the lungs, through the contiguous edges of the
glottis. It being important that the student should clearly
understand the mechanical formation of voice, we offer
the following simple and homely illustrations.

28. The principle on which vocal sound is formed is the
same as that by which a blade of grass or a slip of ribbon
is made to produce a sound by being placed between the
]ips while the breath is strongly impinged against them.
But the most perfect imitation of voice, as well as the
most exact imitation of the laryngeal aperture — the glot-
tis — is obtained by the approximation of two fingers, say
the fore and middle fingers of the left hand, holding them
nearly to the middle joints in the right hand, and forcing
the breath between their moistened edges. Th^ aperture
thus obtained between the fingers, from the knuckles to
the next joints, is of about the same size as that of the
glottis ; and the sound produced by the vibration of its
edges, remarkably resembles glottal voice, and exemplifies
many of the vocal principles. Comparative openness of
the aperture produces grave sounds, and contraction, acute
sounds : slackness of its edges causes huskiness or whis-
per, and tension gives clearness and purit}'^ of tone. A
knowledge of these principles should assist the speaker
in correcting habits of defective or impure sonorousness
of voice.

29. Variations of Pitch in the voice are thus produced
by variations in the condition and dimensions of the glot-
tis. Something, too, depends on the elevation or depres-
sion of the whole larynx ; as we see coarsely exemplified
by untrained singers, who toss the head upwards, or bur-
row the chin in the chest, as they squeak or croak at the
extremities of the voice. In running over the vocal com-
pass, the larynx may be felt descending with the gravity
of the tones, and ascending with their acuteness. The
head, of course, should be quiescent. A sympathetic
motion of the head or eye-brows is a common but offensive
accompaniment to the movements of the voice among
untutored speakers.

[Exercises on the vocal movements — speaking tones —
will be found under the head of Inflexion.]

30. The voice may be formed by a soft and gradual

34 VOCALIZATION.

vibration, or by an abrupt and instantaneous explosiveness
of sound. The latter mechanism of voice is often em-
ployed in energetic, emphatic speech ; and the orator
should be able, at will, to adopt it with any degree of
force from piano to forte. The pronunciation of the
vowel sounds with something of the effort of a cough,*
but without its breathiness, will develop the power of
producing this intensive vocal effect. Thus : — inhale a
full breath, and eject the vowel sounds directly from the
throat ; avoiding, in the most forcible effort, any bending
or other action of the head or body.

31. Huskiness of voice may be the result of diffidence,
of disease, or of over-exertion. With the first and last
of these we have to do. The mechanical cause is a re-
laxation of the vocal ligaments. Rest will generally
restore the voice when over-exertion is the cause of its
depravity; and the "coup de la glotte" will purify it,
and contribute to give confidence when the first is the
modifying circumstance. In temporary affections of the
voice, warm mucilaginous drinks, and many confectionery
preparations will be of service. Dryness of the mouth
will be relieved by a small particle of powdered nitre
placed upon the tongue. Habits of temperance are the
best preservative of the voice.

33. The voice is variously modified in quality by the
relative arrangement of the organs of the mouth, — the soft
palate, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips. The various
configurations of the vocal channel, and of the oral aper-
ture, by the plastic soft organs, the tongue and lips, give
rise to vowel diversity. The contraction of the arch of
the fauces, by enlargement of the tonsils, or by too close
approximation of the root of the tongue to the soft palate,
produces a guttural depravity of tone : laxity of the soft
palate, causing it to hang from, and uncover, or only par-
tially close, the nares (the pharyngeal openings of the
nostrils) produces a nasal modification : too close ap-
proximation of the jaws, especially the falling back of
the lower teeth behind the upper, gives rise to a dental

♦This exercise ("coup de laglotte") is recommended to singers
in the excellent and philosophical Treatise on the Art of Singing,
by M. Garcia, of Paris.

VOCALIZATION VOWELS. 25

impurity ; and contraction or inequality of the labial aper-
ture — by elevation of the lower lip above the edges of
the lower teeth, by depression of the upper lip below the
edges of the upper teeth, by contact of the corners of the
lips, by pouting, or by opening the mouth unequally to one
side — produces a labial modification. These labial habits
affect not only the quality of the voice, but also many of
the vowel and articulate formations.

33. The quality of the voice is said to be gutturally,
dentally, or labially depraved, when the approximation of
the organs is so close as to produce a degree of guttural,
dental, or labial vibration^ in addition to the true sonorous
vibration of the glottis.

IV.— PRINCIPLES OF VOWEL FORMATION.

34. The voice, as formed in the glottis, may be said to
be destitute of vowel quality. It is moulded into vowel
shapes as it flows out of the mouth. The following simple
experiment will give a clear idea of the nature of vowel
formation.

35. Open the mouth to the greatest possible extent —
with the lips naturally drawn back, so that the edges of the
teeth are visible — and emit an utterance of voice : it will
sound ah ! Continue sounding this vowel while you grad-
ually cover the mouth lirmly with the hand, laying the
fingers of the left hand on the right cheek, and slowly
bringing the whole hand across the mouth : the vowel
quality of the sound will be changed with every diminution
of the oral aperture, progressively becoming «w, oh^ oo^
as the palm gradually covers the mouth.

36. The apparatus of the mouth is wonderfully calcu-
lated to effect the most minute and delicate changes with
definiteness and precision. The tongue and the lips are
the chief agents of vowel modification. When the tongue
is evenly depressed, and the lips are fully spread, the
voice has the vowel sound ah; when the tongue contracts
the oral channel — ^by rising convexly within the arch of
the palate, leaving only a small central passage for the
voice — the vowel quality is ee; and when the labial aper-
ture is contracted to a small central opening — the vowel

26 VOWELS.

quality is oo. These vowels then, ee^ ah^ and oo^ are the
extremes of the natural vowel scale : the closest lingual
vowel is ee; the closest labial^ oo; and the most open
sound, ah*

37. From the mutual independence of the vowel modi-
fiers — the lips and the tongue, — it will be obvious that
their various positions'may be assumed either separately
or simultaneously. Thus we may put the tongue into the
position ee^ and the lips into the position 00 at the same
instant ; and we shall produce a vowel, which combines
the qualities of ee and 00^ and is different from both ;
just as two colours intermixed, such as blue and yellow,
produce a third, — green, — which combines their effects,
and differs from either element of the compound. The
close labio-lingual vowel, resulting from the simultaneous
formation of ee and 00^ is the German ii — a sound often
heard in some of the Irish and American dialects, in-
stead of ^c>, or u.

38. Two other vowels of the Labio-lingual class are
such very common European sounds, that an additional
illustration, with reference to them, may not be super-
fluous. The lips in the position o, and the tongue in the
position a, produce the broad variet}' of French u — the
same as the Scotch vowel in fruity shoe^ &c. ; and the
lips in the position aw, with the tongue in the position
e (ell)t, produce the French eu or the German o. If,
therefore, the vowel 00 be sounded, or the vowel 0, or
the vowel aw, the mere advance of the tongue will pro-
duce the corresponding Labio-lingual vowels without any
change in the position of the lips. Thus, retract and
advance the tongue while the lips retain the positions 00,
o, aw, and the sounds will be alternately :

00 ii, 00 ii, 00 ii

u, o u, ii

aw eu, aw eu, aw eu

39. In the system of" Visible Speech" three classes
of purely lingual vowels are recognized, as modified by
the " Back," the '' Front," or the (" Mixed ") Back and
Front, of the tongue. At each of tihese three parts of the
tongue three distinct vowels are formed by the " High,"
" Mid," or " Low " position of the tongue in reference to

VOWELS. 27

the palate ; and of each of the nine vowels so produced
there is a " Wide " variety, caused by expansion of the
faucal cavity behind the tongue. There are thus eighteen
vowels of the lingual class provided with separate symbols.
Each of these eighteen vowels yields a " Round " or la-
bialized variety ; so that the Alphabet of Visible Speech
contains 36 simple vowels. The number is extended by
diacritic signs to no fewer than 180 possible shades of
vowel quality, for which a distinctive notation is given.
It is impossible by means of ordinary letters to tabulate
the Universal Alphabet with intelligibility ; although
these vowels are all written by only six primary symbols
in " Visible Speech."

40 - The following Table contains a classification of
English Vowel sounds in the order of their formation,
commencing with that which has the most contracted
lingual aperture.

41. English Vowel Scheme^ and Numerical Notation.

pool X 17. —
poor, pull\i6.-

Combinations.
8-2 isle; 8-16 owl; 12-2 oil; y -16 cure; y-17 cue.

43. In order to bring this scheme into practical appli-
cation, the student must discard letters as names of the
sounds, and adopt instead a numerical nomenclature, in
accordance with the arrangement in the Table. Thus,
he must associate the sound ee with Number i , and speak
of the vowel in the words b^, iee^ tea^ k^y, c^/1, f/Vld,
p^^ple, p/que, &c., as uniformly No. i., independently
of the diverse vowel letters which represent the sound.
And so with all the other vowels. He has to deal with
sounds^ not letters.

28 VOWELS EXERCISES

43. The key words in the Table contain the vowel
siounds to which the numbers refer. The student should
make himself expert at vocal analysis, so as to be able to
pronounce the vowels alone with the exact sound which
they receive in the words. He will probably experience
some difficulty at first in isolating ^he ''short" sounds
correctly, — especially the 2d and 6th vowels, — without
the customary assistance of an articulation to "stop"
them. But as there is no particular quantity or duration
essential to any vowel, he should make himself able to
pronounce all the sounds independently, with both long
and short degrees of quantity.

44. The terms long and short are here used with ref-
erence only to sounds which are identical in quality or
formation. Vowels are commonly spoken of as relatively
longand short, when they are utterly unlike in every charac-
teristic of sound. Thus / in /// is called the short sound
of " I," the Idng sound of which is heard in isle; and u
in us^ the short sound of " U," the long sound being heard
in use. In the more definite nomenclature by numbers^
these " short" sounds are respectively the 2nd and nth
vowels.

45 . The ' ' long " or name-sounds of the alphabetic vowels
are: A=3,E= i, 1 = 8-2, 0= i5,U = y-i7; and their
"short" sounds are: A=6, E = 5,1=2,0 = 12, U==ii.

Vowel Exercises.

46. The following words exemplify each of the Eng-
lisli vowels in their various modes of orthography.

47. First Vowel, represented ^^ e, i, ae, ae, ay, ee,
e'e, ea, ei, eo, ey, eye, ie, oe, uoi ; as in eve, fatigue, mi-
nutiae, aerie, quay, bee, e'en, eat, conceive, people, key,
keyed, field, antoeci, turquoise; religion, sedate, prefer,
vehement, peculiar, enough, decide, between, oetites,
assuetude, idfa, aureola, sphere, shire, bier, belief, unique,
priest, police, treaty, seizure, aegis, amphisboena, oedema,
peevish, meagre, league, siege, scream, fiend, wean, ease,
breeze, frieze, achieve, trustee, ennui, ye, thee.

48. Second Vowel, represented ^j)/ a, e, i, o, u, y, ai,
ay, ea, ee, ei, ey, ia, ie, ui, uy ; as in cabbage, pretty,
ill, women, busy, hymn, mountain, Monday, guineas,

VOWELS — EXERCISES. 39

breeches, forfeit, monkey, parliament, sieve, build, plaguy;
orange, England, alkali, ashy, fancies, oxygen, servile,
cottage, marriage, miniature, business, vineyard, cygnet,
abyss, hyssop, citron, chintz, vivify, dizziness, invisible,
miracle, spirit, livelong, vigil, give, film, bilge, finger,
singer, precipice, premises, vestige, virility, valleys.

49. Third Vowel, represented by a, ai, ao, au, ay,
aye, ea, ei, ey, eye, oi ; as in age, aim, gaol, gauge, pay,
aye, steak, vein, obey, preyed, connoisseur ; aerial, archai-
ology, ukase, emigrate, portrait, clayey, vacate, weigher,
half-penny, phasis, plaice, complacent, obeisance, bait,
great, straight, ache, quaint, able, layer, azure, hey-day,
maiden, zany, gala, jailor, sago, scabrous, shame, they've,
lathe, baize, chaise, rein-deer, vain, veil, bewail, vagrant,
neigh, dismay, inveigh, allay, grey, gay, yea.

50. Fourth Vowel, represented by a, e, aa, ae, ai^
ay, ea, e'e, ei, ey ; as in fare, ere, Aaron, aer, air, prayer,
wear, ne'er, heir, eyre ; daring, fairy, heiress, Mary,
chary, scare-crow, lair, therein, where'er.

51. Fifth Vowel, represented by a, e, u, ae, ai, ay,
ea, ei, eo, ie, ue ; as in many, ever, bury, Michaelmas,
said, says, health, heifer, leopard, friend, guess ; erratic,
erroneous, effect, effeminate, embezzle, eccentric, except,
executor, extend, dreaded, essence, headless, segment,
freshness, emptiness, jeopardy, feoff, death, etiquette,
wealth, elsewhere, burial, beryl, ferret, pellet, rennet,
jealous, zenith, pleasure, regiment, legend, emblem,
brethren, helmet, velvet.

52. Sixth Vowel, represented by a, aa, ai ; as i::
amber, Canaan, raillery ; atlantean, vagrant, translate,
woodland, annual, atlas, capital, passion, patent, relapse,
statue, tapestry, waft, wax, altitude, balcony, amaranth,
arid, ballad, cavalry, galaxy, gaseous, harass, paragraph,
album, band, flag, plaid, glad, pageant, scandal, value,
harangue.

53. Seventh Vowel, represented by a; as in abode,
adapt, again, alone, arouse, charade, dragoon, fanatic,
oasis, pagoda, idea, paralysis, saliva, saloon, syllable,
sofa^ drama.

54. Eighth Vowel, represented by a; as in bath,
cast, castle, brass, fasten, master, pass, past, repast, sam-
ple, staff, task, vast.

30 VOWELS — EXERCISES.

55. Ninth Vowel, represented by a, e, au, ea, ua ;
as in ardour, clerk, haunt, hearty, guardian ; artificer,
barbaric, harpoon, narcotic, parhelion, sarcastic, lunar,
dotard, arch, artifice, carpet, hearth, hearken, startle, tar-
tar, aunt, can't, draught, laugh, arm, are, barge, farm, ser-
geant, guardian, alms, balm, calves, malmsey, papa,
qualm, salve, father. »

56. Tenth Vowel, represented by r, re, er, ir,
yr, ear, uer, wer ; as in par, here, her, firmness,
hyrst, earnest, guerdon, answer ; pier, near, hare, star,
war, ore, sure, fire, beaver, fibre, acre, cider, ephir,
zephyr, martyr, satire, chirp, earth, bird, fertile, mer-
chant, thirty, vertex, virtue, myrtle, gherkin, irksome,
kerchief, verb, firm, sirs, hers, bird, herd, verge, dirge,
earn, yearn, early, pearl, sirloin, sterling, whirlwind, err,
stir, myrrh, prefer.

57. Eleventh Vowel, represented by o, u, eo,
io, oa, oi, oo,«ou, ow, wo, eou, iou, olo ; as in world,
done, furnace, ugly, dungeon, motion, cupboard, avoir-
dupois, blood, journey, young, bellows, twopence, gor-
geous, cautious, colonel ; bombast, buffoon, doubloon,
sublime, umbrella, unkind, upon, seldom, bankrupt,
medium, dubious, jealous, genus, courageous, collection,
dudgeon, question, bluff, chough, tough, couple, nuptial,
doth, husk, joust, thus, subtle, luscious, luxury, pulp,
bulk, gulf, mulct, monk, uncle, borough, brother, colour,
cover, cunning, curricle, honey, money, mother, shovel,
smuggle, study, thorough, tunnel, worry, colander, dull,
dumb, none, buzz, love, tub, hung ; burr, fur, spur, cur,
surfeit, worse, work, worm, curly, worldly, urn, absurd,
curdle, urge.

58. Twelfth Vowel, represented by a, o, au, oa,
ou, ow ; as in want, often, laudanum, groat, hough,
knowledge ; observe, occasion, oppose, quadroon, vol-
cano, blossom, coffee, cloth, fossil, doctor, prologue,
quantity, quash, squat, topic, twattle, vocative, wash,
wasp, watch, conch, frontier, monster, prompt, wampum,
cauliflower, chronicle, foreign, grovel, honest, laurel,
monad, nomad, olive, provost, qualify, quarrel, sovereign,
squalid, volant, warrant, zoology, bond, prong, quadrant,
solve, squander, swan, was, wan.

VbwBLS EXERCISES. 3 1

59. Thirteenth Vowel, represented by a, au, aw,
oa, ou ; as in all, taught, law, broad, thought ; war,
sw^arthy, warm, auction, awful, balk, bought, caution,
falcon, vaunt, halt, plaudit, lawyer, bald, broad, shawl,
tall, yawn, faugh, pacha, spa, saw.

60. Fourteenth Vowel, (only before R), repre-
sented by o, ew, oa, oo, ou, wo, owa ; as in ore, sewer,
oar, door, four, sword, towards; original, oriental, fore-
bode, glory, sonorous, coarse, court, courtier, forth,
hoarse, porch, source, portly, porte, borne, bourn, forge,
gourd, mourn, torn, tournament, untoward, horde, corps,,
floor, o'er, restore, decorum, horal, pylorus, deportment,
victorious, proportion.

61 . Fifteenth Vowel, represented ^j/ o, ao, au, ew,
eau, ewe, oa, oe, oo, ou, ow, owe ; as in old, Pharaoh,
hauteur, shew, beau, sewed, oak, foe, brooch, soul, crow,
crowed ; analogy, antelope, apotheosis, arrow, borrow,
broccoli, cameo, coeval, colony, colossus, furlough, elo-
cution, nosology, obedient, philosopher, potato, rondeau,
zoology, oasis, orthoepy, blowpipe, broach, cocoa, en-
gross, host, jocose, locomotive, narcosis, oak, oat, oath,
bolster, poultry, won't, curioso, hautboy, olio, onyx,
trover, zodiac, blown, boll, brogue, comb, droll, foal,
knoll, mould, nones, parasol, shrove, though, bureau,
dough, hoe, holloa, know, lo, owe, throe, sloe, trow,
mower, woe.

62. Sixteenth Vowel, represented 3y o, u, oo, ou ;
as in wolf, pull, look, poor, would ; ambush, bivouac,
ferula, fulfil, hurrah, to, into, issue, treasure, book,
butcher, cuckoo, cushion, push, puss, put, pulpit, bosom,
bully, sugar, woman, woollen, bull, should, stood.

63. Seventeenth Vowel, represented by o^ u, ew,
oe, 00, ou, ui ; as in do, rude, brew, shoe, woo, you,
cruise ; roud, truism, bouquet, brutal, flute, fruitage,
goose, croup, recruit, ruler, whoop, youthful, remove,
rhubarb, ruby, ruthless, bloom, bouse, bruise, lose,
peruse, shrewd, accrue, ado, brew, halloo, ormolu, ra-
gout, who, too.

64. Diphthong 8-2, represented by i, y, ai, ay, ei, ey,
eye, ie, oi, ui, uy, ye, ; as in isle, by, naivetd, ay, height,
eying, eye, lie, choir, guide, buy, dye ; diameter, iden-

32 VOWELS — ANGLICISMS.

tify, iota, psychology, zodiacal, viaduct, society, hierarch,
bias, lyre, science, cycle, nightly, viscount, vital, icicle,
island, ivy, finite, piebald, sliver, twilight. Til, I'm, Fd,
blithe, gyve, rhyme, lithesome, bye, fy, awry, thigh, rye,
vie, why.

65. Diphthong 8-16, represented by o, ou, ow ; as in
accomptant, thou, cow ; vouchsafe, foundation, bower,
coward, vowel, our, couch, cowslip, doughty, bounteous,
countenance, fountain, cloudy, owlet, thousand, browse,
lounge, avow, bough, plough, endow.

d^. Diphthong 13—3, represented by oe, oi, oy, eoi ;
as in oboe, coin, boy, burgeois ; envoy, rhomboid, boy-
ish, loyalty, moiety, cloister, doit, hoist, oyster, anoint,
jointure, embroider, foible, toilsome, avoid, noiseless,
alloy, joy, destroy.

67. Combination Y-i 6, represented by u, as in cure,
durable, nature, obtuse, use (n.), abuse (n.), refuse (n.)

(:^, Combination y-i 7, represented by u, ue, ui, eu,
ew, eau, iew, yew, you ; as in duty, imbue, suit, neuter,
few, beauty, view, yew, you ; superior, utensil, virtue,
inter^^iew, tutor, Tuesday, dupe, tune, gewgaw, music,
news, fugue, pursuit, mutual, suture, use (v.), alluvial,
illusive, pollute, involution, abuse (v.), refuse (v.)

V. ANGLICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.*

69. It will be observed that the a and o which represent
the 3rd and 15th vowels in the English scheme (par. 41),
have a small ee and 00 printed after these radical letters.
This indicates a peculiar Anglicism ; in which, and some
associated principles, lies the leading difference between
the vernacular dialects north and south of the Tweed.
In Scotland these vowels are monophthongs — that is,
their sound is the same from beginning to end, thus a a
and o o ; while in England these vowels are diph-
thongs^ being tapered from the radical point towards the
closest formation of their respective classes, lingual or

* For a minute description of each of the English vowels, the
efects to which they
dth copious Exercig
tionary of Sounds."

defects to which they are liable, and the means of correction, —
with copious Exercises, — see '* Pri«iciples of Speech and Die-

VOWELS — ^ANGLICISMS. 33

labial. j4 tapers towards e by the progressive ascent of
the tongue, and o tapers towards oo by the gradual ap-
proximation of the lips. Thus —

obey>ee. . go>«».

ai>«d, o>oold.

pla>wgue, ho>oome,

la>eeke, ho>o»pe, &c.

70. In the lists of the 3d and 15th vowels, there is no
word containing the letter R after the vowel. This omis-
sion is not accidental. It brings us to another Principle.

71. R in English is articulated but faintly, or not at
all, in the two following positions ; ist, before any artic-
ulation — or consonant; — 2d, at the end of any word.
In these situations, R has always a vowel sound —that of
er or ir in the words her and sir — the loth vowel. R
has this vowel effect also when between two vowels, the
first being long, as in weary, fiery, glory, fury. In words
of this class, the R has both its vowel and its consonant
sound. Thus, glory is not glo-ry, but glo(re)-ry. The
vowel^uality of the R is most manifest after the closest
radical vowels. The pronunciation fee-rage^ poo-rest^
&c., is characteristically Scotch. Such words, to be
Anglicised, must be pronounced pe-er-age^ poo-er-est^
&c.

72. Exercise on the Double Sound of R: — Eyry,
ear-ache, leering, nearer, peeress, merest, airy, unwary,
fairy, Mary, heiress, garish, soaring, gory, boreas, jury,
alluring, Moorish, fiery, wir}^ showery, towering.

73. The 3rd and 15th vowels are, as shown above,
closing diphthongs — that is, the vowel aperture is smaller
at the end than at the beginning of the sound. A syllable
may consist of either an opening or a closing combination
of vowels, but it cannot combine with these any sound
that reverses the progression. The vowel sound of R,
(No. 10) is a very open sound, and could not, there-
fore, be pronounced after the closing diphthongs A^e or
0^00 in one syllable. Either the diphthongal A and O
must be contracted into monophthongs^ or the R must be
articulated. The latter expedient would be c^»-English :
the former is adopted. The closing diphthongal ti^rmi-
nation of the A and O is dropped, and the radical vowel

34 VOWELS SCOTTICISMS.

sound is slightly opened for easier combination with the
very open element lo. Thus, instead of No. 3, we pro-
nounce No. 4, and instead of 15, we pronounce 14, before
R in the same syllable.

74. In this way a distinctiveness is maintained in the
pronunciation of such words as lair and layer ^ lore and
lower ^ &c. The firsts of these pairs of words are mono-
syllables (4^10 and 14^^10), and the seconds are dis-
syllables (3-2-10 and 15-16-10).

75. The 14th vowel is intermediate in formation to oh
and aw* The rapid alternation of these sounds will blend
them into No. 14 ; or the effort to pronounce an O with-
out using the lips will probably at once give the exact
effect.

76. The difference between English and Scotch pro-
nunciation in such words as air and ore is very marked :
the R being strongly articulated in Scotland, And the A
and O having the same sound before R as before other
articulations.

VI. SCOTTICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.

77. Vowel i, too short; as \r\ feet^ people^ mean^
steely &c. — ^Vowel i, as No. 3, short; as in deal^ meal^
seat^ conceit^ &c., pronounced dale, male, &c.

78. Vowel 3, too open ; as injill^ crib^ dig^ him^ &c.,
pronounced nearly as fell, creb, deg, hem,* &c. — Vowel
2, as No. I, short, as in religion^ individual^ vicious^
&c., pronounced rel^^gion, endeve^dual, v^^cious, &c. —
Vowel 2, nearly as No. 11; as in w///, wind^ wish^ &c.,
pronounced wull, wund, wiish, &c.

79. Vowel 3, a monophthong. Vowel 3, a diphthong
compounded of Nos. 4 and i , as in aye^ pay^ jctH^ tailor^
&c., pronounced nearly as e^-ee, pe^-ee, je^-eel, &c. —
Vowel 2, as No. 5 (long) ; as in nation^ education^ gra-
cious^ &c. , pronounced ne^tion, gre^cious,t &c. ; — Vowel

♦ The vowel in these cases is an abrupt utterance of the sound
of No. 4 (English Vowel Scheme, par. 41).

t This is less a colloquial than an oratorical and especially a
Pulpit Scotticism.

VOWELS — SCOTTICISMS. 35

3, as No. 5 (short) ; as in faints lady^ trade^ &c., pro-
nounced pent, leddy, tred, &c.

80. Vowel 4, as No. 3 (monophthong) ; as in Mary^
heiress^ &c., pronounced Ma-ry, ai-ress, &c.

81. Vowel 5, as No. i ; as in deaf^ breast^ seven^ &c.,
pronounced deef, breest, &c. — Vowel 5, as No. 2 ; as in
twenty^ ever^ never ^ ef-^ em-, en-^ ex-^ &c., pronounced
twinty, iver, niver, if-, im-, in-, &c. — Vowel 5, long instead
of short; as in guess ^ smelly &c. — Vowel 5, as No. 3
(monophthong) ; as in deaths edify ^ &c., pronounced
daith, &c. — Vowel 5, too open ; as in very ^ perish^ &c.,
pronounced varry, parish, &c. — Vowel 5, pronounced
with an abrupt sound of No. 4 ; as in merry ^ cherry^ &c.

83. Vowel 6, as No. 3 ; as in afple^ axe^ t<^ctfy^ &c.,
pronounced aiple, aiks, &c. — Vowel 6, as No. 5 ; as in
cap^ Saturday^ salary^ &c., pronounced kep, seturday,
&c. — Vowel 6, as No. 9 (short) ; as in man^ g(^s^ am^
cat^ &c., pronounced mahn, gahs, &c. — Vowel 6, as No.
13 ; as in tvaxn^ salmon^ &c., pronounced wawx, sawmon,
&c.

83. Vowel 7, as No. 2 ; as in sofa^ idea^ &c., pro-
nounced sofy, &c.

84. Vowel 8, as No. 9 (short) ; as in ask^ bath^ &c.,
pronounced ahsk, &c. — Vowel 8, as No. 5 ; as in brass^
grass ^ nasty ^ &c., pronounced bress, gress, &c.

85. Vowel 9, too short; as in parcel^ carpet^ half
&c. — Vowel 9, as No. 13 ; as in palm^ papa^far^ star^
&c. ; pronounced pawm, papaw, faur, stawr, &c.-
Vowel 9, as No. 5 ; as in farm, heart, hearth, &c. ;
pronounced fehnm, hehrt, hehrth, &c. — ^Vowel 9, as No.
3 ; as in arm, guard, sergeant, &c. ; pronounced ainm,
gaind, saiRgeant, &c.

86. Vowel 10, as No. 5 ; as in err, serve, person,
term, &c. ; prounounced ehRR, sehRve, pehRson, tehRm,
Ac. — ^Vowel 10, as in firm, circle, stir, virgin, acre,
paper, &c. : pronouncifed with the abrupt sound of No.

4, referred to in par. 78.

87. Vowel 1 1 , too deep or guttural ; as in tub, cuff,
cull, &c. — ^Vowel 1 1 (in unaccented termination) , as in
attent/£>«, ^exixus, atrocious, pronounced with the abrupt
sound of No. 4, referred to in the preceding paragraph.

36 VOWELS SCOTTICISMS.

— Vowel II, (before R,) too short, and the R strongly
articulated — as in fur^ turn^ worm^ &c. ; pronounced
fuR, tuRn, wiiRm, &c.

88. Vowel 12, as No. 15 ; as in cost^ morn ^ fond ^ copy^
clocks &c. ; pronounced coast, mourn, &c. vowel 13 as
No. II ; as in body^ nobody^ &c, ; pronounced buddy,
nobuddy, &c.

89. Vowel 13 as No. 9 ; as in war^ saw^ call^ walk^
warp^ quality^ &c. ; pronounced wahr, sah, quahlity, &c.
Vowel 13 as No. 15 ; as in bought^ broad^ &c. ; pro-
nounced, boat, &c.

90. Vowel 14 as No. 15 ; as xnfour^ sore^ door^ ^lory^
story ^ &c. ; pronounced fohR, glohry, &c. Vowel 14 as
No. 12; as \xv force ^ sporty fourth^ 8ic.\ pronounced
fbrs, forth, &c. Vowel 14 as No. 17 ; as in coarse^ courts
Pour^ &c. ; pronounced coors, pooR, &c.

91. Vowel 15 a monophthong. Vowel 15 as No. 2,
in unaccented syllables ; as in fellow^ elocution .^ analogy^
&c. ; pronounced felly, analygy, &c. Vowel 15 as No.
3 ; as in own^ alone^ toe^ &c. ; pronounced ain, alain, tae^
&c. Vowel 15 as No. 12 ; as in broken^ ^oaf^ coals^ &c. ;
pronounced brocken, lof, colz, &c. Vowel 15 as No. 13 ;
as in old^ cold^fold^ &c. ; pronounced auld, cauld, &c.
Vowel 15 as a diphthong, compounded of Nos. 1 1 and- 17 ;
as in bowl^ soul^ mouldy &c. The same vowel is heard,
but the / is not sounded, in boil^ poll (the head) , knoll j
roll^ &c. ; pronounced bow, pow, &c.

92. Vowel 16 as No. 11 ; as in woman ^ full ^ bull,
push^ &c. ; pronounced wumpian, &c. Vowel 16 as
No. 4 (short) ; as in foot^ put; pronounced nearly fet,
pet.

93. Vowel 17 too short ; as in pool ^ fool ^ &c. Vowel
17 as the labio-lingual of No. 3 (u French) ; as in soon,
fruity goose, shoe, &c, ; pronounced s{ine, friite, gCtse,
shu, &c. — Vowel 17, final, sometimes has the simple
lingual formation correspondent to the above labio-lingual
vowel ; as in tae and dae, for too and do, &c. In some
districts closer lingual vowels are used ; as ski'll or skele
for school, fill for fool, seen for soon, dee for do, &c.

94. Diphthong 8-2, as No. i, in verbs ending in y ; as
in gratify, stupify, edify, &c. ; pronounced gratifee.

VOWELS — HIBERNICISMS . 37

stupifee, aidifee, &c. — Diphthong 8-2, with the Scotch
Vowel referred to in par. 78 ; as in Jind^ blind ^ sights
&c. ; pronounced nearly fend, blSnd, secHt, &c. — Diph-
thong 8-2 as 9-2 — the radical sound very long ; as in^/fy,
sky, &c. ; pronounced flah-y, skah-^, &c. — Diphthong
8-2, with 5 (long) , instead of 8, followed by a very slight
closing effect; as in I, high, prize, &c. ; pronounced
nearly as eh-y, heh-y, preh-iz, &c. — Diphthong 8-2, — as
a compound of the Scotch vowel before referred to, and
No. I ; as in ice,Jine, smile, &c. ; pronounced nearly as
eh-ees, feh-een, smSh-eel, &c.

95. Diphthong 8-16, as 1 1-17 ; as in cloud, howl, vow,
thou, &c. — Diphthong 8-16 as No. 17 ; as in house, proud,
cow, &c. ; pronounced hoos, prood, coo, &c. — Diphthong
8-16, as No. II ; as vt\ pound, ground, &c. ; pronounced
pund, griind, &c.

96. Diphthong 12-2, as 15-2; as in boy, noise, &c. ;
pronounced bo-y, no-iz, &c. — Diphthong 12-2, pro-
nounced with a compound of the Scotch variety of No. 4
and No. i ; as in oil, oyster, joint, &c. ; pronounced
nearly eh-eel, eh-eester, j€h-eent, &c.

97. In the foregoing list of Vowel Scotticisms, no notice
is taken of dialectic changes of words, but only of ver-
nacular pronunciations of words used and spelt as in
English.

VII. HIBERNICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.

98. Vowel i, in some words, pronounced 3 (long,
monophthong) ; as in seat, meat, easy, &c. ; pronounced
sate, aisy, &c.

99. Vowel 2, (in ^ final) as i ; as in happy, pretty,
my (unaccented), &c., pronounced happee, mee, &c.

100. Vowel 3, as a monophthong (long).

loi . Vowel 5 , as French ' ' e mute " (the ' ' Mid Mixed "
vowel of V^'sible Speech) ; as in health, pleasure, friend,
&c.

102. Vowels 8 and 9 as 6 (long) ; as in bath, pass,
castle* calf, ah, papa, &c.

103. Vowels 10 and 11, nearly as 12 ; as in her, sir,
up, dull, blood, worm, Dublin, &c. The true sound

38 VOWELS — ^AMERICANISMS.

cannot be indicated by Roman letters ; it is the '' Low
Mixed Round " vowel of Visible Speech.

104. Vowel 13 nearly as 8 ; as in a//, want^ thought^
honesty law^ &c. The sound is the " Low Mixed Wide
Round" vowel of Visible Speech.

105. Vowel 15, as a monophthong.

106. Vowel 16, in some words, nearly as 11 ; as in
foot^ look^ stood ^ put^ cushion^ &c.

107. Diphthong 8-2 nearly as 13-1 ; as in Tvhy^ I^
time^ and all words containing 1. The true Irish sound
is the same as in par. 103.

108. Diphthong 1 2-3 nearly as 8-1 . The initial sound
is the same as in par. 104.

109. Unaccented Vowels of all classes, as French
" e mute " (the " Mid Mixed " sound of Visible Speech) ;
as in religion, destroy, cabbage, surface, prec/p/c«, good-
ness, useless, poiralys/s, certa/n, knowledge, ornament,
e'rig/nal, ph/los^pher, rheumat/sm, pleast^re, counte-
nance, &c.

VIII. AMERICANISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.

no. The Author's opportunities have enabled him to
furnish tolerably complete lists of Anglicisms, Scotticisms,
and Hibernicisms of Vowel Sound. He cannot pretend
to an equally minute knowledge of American character-
istics. The preceding analysis may be taken as a model
by those who can in a similar manner exhibit the pecu-
liai-ities of other Dialects. A few only of the more promi-
nent Americanisms can be noted here.

111. Vowel 3, as a monophthong.

112. Vowel ID, — and the letter R before an articula-
tion, — ^with a sound which is very peculiar, and cannot
be represented by Roman letters. It is the " High
Mixed " vowel of Visible Speech. The effect of R be-
fore an articulation is nearly that of Y ; as in spohyt for
sport.

113. Vowel II, before R, with the same sound as the
preceding.

114. Vowels 14 and 15, alike (monophthong.)

115. Diphthong 8-2 as 9-2, with the first element very
long ; as in tah-ini for time.

VOWELS AND ARTICULATIONS. 39

116. Diphthong 8-16 as 5-16; as in deh-oon for
down.

117. Diphthong 12-2 as 14-2.

1x8. Alphabetic U, when not pronounced simply as
17 (as dooty for duty) has the diphthongal sound 1-16 ;
as in nee-oo for new, fee-00 for few, &c.

119. Nasal Quality. This is the most marked fear
ture in the American Dialects. A national relaxation of
the soft palate seems to prevail, so that the inner ends of
the nares remain uncovered. Vowels before or after the
nasal Articulations M, N, and Ng, are affected in the
greatest degree ; but many speakers never utter a purely
oral vowel.

IX. DISTINCTION BETWEEN VOWELS AND ARTICU-
LATIONS.

120. Before proceeding to illustrate further the Nu-
merical Notation of Vowels, the distinction between
Vowels and Articulations, (or Consonants,) must be
explained. These primary classes of the elements of
speech are united in Y and W, which combine articu^
lative quality with the sounds of the closest vowels i,
(ee,) and 17, (00.) Thus: prolong the sounds of y and
w, as heard at the beginning of a word, (yea^ way^ &c.)
and, the y will then be found identical in sound with Ee,
and the w with Oo. Yet that there is a difference be-
tween Y and Ee, and between W and Oo, — and one not
merely of quantity, — will be evident on pronouncing these
vowels twice in succession, in contrast with the words ye
and woo— thus ee-ee, 00-00. Let these vowels be rapidly
or slowly repeated, they will not identify with the words
ye and woo. An experiment will furnish the most simple
and convincing illustration of the difference between these
utterances, and between Vowels and Articulations gen-
erally.

121. Prolong the sound of the First vowel (ee,) and
while doing so strike the tongue upwards with the tip
of a finger from behind the chin ; and the Ee will be
changed to Yk by each stroke : prolong the seventeenth
vowel (00,) and while doing so, approximate the edges

40 VOWEL NOTATION.

of the lips, by the action of the finger and thumb, and the
Oo will be changed into Woo, by every approximation.
In forming the vowels Ee and Oo, the organs are in the
closest positions they can assume without influencing the
sound by a degree of vibration of the edges of the con-
tracted lingual or labial aperture. In forming Y and W,
a compressive action of the tongue and lips creates this
oral, articulative effect; while it gives the succeeding
vowel a degree of per cuss iveness^ arising from previous
interception or obstruction.

122. Vowels, then, are glottal sounds merely modi fied
by the shape of the mouth, and having no oral sound ; and
Articulations are affulsive actions of the oral organs,
originating a sound within the mouth — a puff or hiss of
breath, or a flap of the articulating organs.

123. The articulations Y and W often occur in pro-
nunciation, when the letters are not written. The com-
mon English digraph qu is sounded kw ; and the alpha-
betic sound of the letter U is equivalent to Y-17. The
sounds of E and I are often contracted into Y, as in
species^ Asia^ question^ &c., pronounced speesh-yiz,
aish-ya, kwest-yun, &c.

X.— EXERCISES IN VOWEL NOTATION.

124. In the passages which are subjoined for analytic
exercise, mark over every spoken vowel-letter the num-
ber of its sound, according to the Scheme at par. 41 ; and
indicate the sounds of y and w, when the letters are not
written. Also show when R has its vowel quality (No.
10) and underline it when it has both its vowel and ar-
ticulate effects. Thus :

w 8 6 w 3 y 17 16 10 y 16 1-11 y 17 2

Quake, assuage, use, your, curious, beauty.

125. The indefinite article^ a, is pronounced No. 7.
The definite article^ the^ is pronounced nearly No. 2
when not emphatic. The pronominal adjectives my and
mine are pronounced No. 2 when they are not accented
or emphatic, and 8-2 when under emphasis. The final
letters le^ and often also el and en^ are pronounced with-
out any vowel sounds — the / and n having in themselves

VOWEL NOTATION. 4I

syllabic purity of voice ; as in bib/^, thist/^, hsLzel, hevely
dev//, bidd^«, deaden^ dozen, heaven, &c. The letter
m, also, is similarly syllabic in such words as rhyth»«,
spas»«,* &c. In all such cases wri/e a cipher (<^) over
the 1, n, or m, to indicate a syllable with no vowel.-
Take no notice of silent letters^ but recognise and note
every sound. The plural termination es is pronounced
No. 2 ; and the verbal terminations es, est, eth, ed, &c.,
are pronounced No. 4. The final letters ed are not syl-
labically pronounced, except after /, or d, or for distinct-
iveness between different parts of speech of the same or-
thography, as in learned, blessed, a:c., which are mono-
syllables, (learn'd, blest, &c.,) when verbs, and dissyl-
lables, (learn-ed, bless-ed, &c.,) when adjectives.

126. Mark the vowels, &c., in the following poem and
then compare the marking with the Key at par. 128.

/. Thought and Deed,

Full many a light thought man may cherish,

Full many an idle deed may do ;
Yet not a deed or thought shall perish,

Not one but he shall bless or rue.

When by the wind the tree is shaken,
There's not a bough or leaf can fall.

But of its falling heed is taken
By One that sees and governs all.

The tree may fall and be forgotten,

And buried in the earth remain;
Yet from its juices rank and rotten

Springs vegetating life again.

a _ —

* With the syllabic /and n a vowel letter is always written, and
the syllable is thus perfect to the eye : but such words as rhythm ^
prism, <^c., having no vowel letter, are commonly reckoned mono-
syllables, though to the ear they are perfectly dissyllabic. The
words ^ri5;/» and^ri5<>»=priz*n, have sound for sound alike, and
both are equally therefore dissyllables.

42 VOWEL NOTATION.

The world is with creation teeming,

And nothing ever wholly dies;
And things that are destroyed in seeming.

In other shapes and forms arise.

And nature still unfolds the tissue
Of unseen works by spirit wrought :

And not a work but hath its issue
With blessings or with evil fraught.

And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee

All memory of the sinful past ;
Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee,

And thou shalt know its fruit at last.

//. Selected Words.

127. Mark the vowels, &c., in the following Selected
Words, and then compare the marking with the Key at
par. 129.

Accli'vous, acquiesce, adver'tisement, ancho'vy, answer,
assure, azure, antipodes, aeronaut, alienable, apophthegm,
apothe'osis, aro'ma, aspi'rant, bandana, banian', battalion, bel-
lows, (s) bowline, breeches, Briton, Britain, brevier', brev'et,
(adj.) brevet', (s) burial, cesu'ra, capuchin', captious, comparable,
chas'tisement, chlorine, colonel, complaisant', con'trary, cor'ol-
lary, curule, coadju'tor, courier, Creole, cupboard, deco'rous, des'-
uetude, diabetes, diceresis, dim'issory, duo, duteous, dynasty,
egotism, elegi'ac, ener'vate, equerry, equable, extraordinary,
fabric, facetiae, fanat'ic, forfeit, fusil, fuchsia, glacier, hallelujah,
height, hypochon'driac, imbecile', impious, indict, invalid', fs)
inval'id, (adj.) issue, lieutenant, million, machinist, Mahomet,
manoeuvre, medicinal, me'diocre, met'onymy, mem'oir, minutiae.

VOWEL NOTATION. 45

mis'cellany, mischievous, mobile, national, o'asis, omnipotent,,
pique, pacha, panegyr'ic, phrenetic, phrenitis, plethora, ple-
thoric, prolix', puisne, quay, query, quandary, queue, righteous^
recitative', recon'dite, rep'ertory, rule, refragable, rev'enue,.
sacerdotal, sali'va, sapphire, satiate, satiety, satrap, stalac'tite^
sub'altem, supernumerary, synecdoche, towards, treasure, ver*
tigo, victuals, women, yacht, zoology, zoological.
Key to Exercises in Vowel Notation,
128. /• Thought and Deed.

16 6 a 7 S-a 13 6 8 6 3

Full many a light thought man may cherish,

6 S-a 1 8 17

Full many an idle deed may do,
6 la la 13 6 6a

Yet not a deed or thought shall perish,

w-11 11 1 6 6 17

Not one but he shall bless or rue.

6 8.aaa ia84

When by the wind the tree is shaken,

4 8-16 1 6 18

There*s not a bough or leaf can fall,
la a 18 a i a 8 4
But of its falling heed is (aken

6 16 11 10 13
By One that sees and governs all.

la la
The tree may fall and be forgotten,
6 a a 10 18

And buried in the earth remain ;
6 la 17 a 6 la

Yet from its juices rank and rotten
a sasa 8-375
Springs vegetating life again.

11 a 1-.8 11 1 a

The world is with creation teeming,
11 a 6 10 15 a 8.a
And nothing ever wholly dies;

a 9 1 la-i 1 a

And things that are destroyed in seeming
11 10 8 la 7 8.a

In other shapes and forms arise.

4+ VOWEL NOTATION.

3y.l6 2 11 15 2 16

And nature still unfolds the tissue

11 1 11 2 2 18

Of unseen works by spirit wrought ;
6 2 16

And not a work. but hath its issue
5 2 1 2 IS

With blessings or with evil fraught.

8-16 3 118-2 1

And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee

13 5 14 2 2 16 8

All memory of the sinful past ;

5 16 1 16 8-2 2 6 8-2 1

Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee,

6 8.16 6 16 2 17 6 8

And thou shalt know its fruit at last.

1 29. For greater clearness the numbers are here printed ,
not over, but instead <?/"the vowel letters. The articu-
lations are altered, when necessary, to represent the
sounds correctly. Italicised r shows that the letter has
both its vowel and articulate sounds.

//. Selected Words,

•kl«-«v"8, •kw'-'s, •dv»»rt«zm»nt, •ntsh^V, «n8»r, •sh^'r, »2h>«r,
•ntV"d'z, V»n«t, »ly*n'bl, •p»»th»m, •p"th»-«8«s, V»m^ •sp^-Vnt,
b'ndV, b«ny"n» bHny"n, fen"8, b«l«n, br^tsh'z, br«t"n, brVn,
br'vV, br^rH, br'V»t, bV-'l, s'zy^r', k«py"8h»n, k«p8h*»8, k"mp^r VI,
tsh«st'zm»nt, kl'Vn, k"rn*l, k^mpl^z^nt, k^ntr^r*, k»V*lV, ky"r»l,
k»»-Mzh"t*»r, k"r»-"r, kr»-"l, k"b"rd, d»k"r"s, d*8w'ty"d, d«-»-n>»t'z,
d"-^-V8«8, d«m»8»V, dy"-", dy"ty"8, d'n'st", »g"t«zm, nMzh'-*%
»n'Vv*t, *kw»r«, *kwVl, »kstr»«rd«nV, fn>r«k, f'8^shy\ f^nH«k,
f"rfH, fy"z', fy"shy^ grsy"r, \i^VVy\ h««t, h'p"k»ndr«-«k,
•mb'sH, «mp«-"s, 'nd^-'t, "nvMM, "nv^lM, «sh", lVt*n«nt, m«ly"n»
m^sh'n'st, m'h»«m*t, m^n'V^'^r, mM'sVl, m»d>-"k"r, m»t»n«m«,
m»mw"r, m'ny^shyS mVl*n«, m«stshV"s, m^Vl, n'sh^n'l, "-^s's,
"mn'p^ent, p»k, p^sh", pVdzV^, fr'n^nt, fr^n^'t's, prth^V,
pl»th»*r»k, pr"1^8, py"n«, k», kwV, kw"ndV, ky", r»-«ty"s,
r*s«etV, r'k"ndH, r*p"rt"r«, r"l, rfr'gVl, r*v»ny", 8«8"rd"tn,
sn^-V, s^f'V, 8«8h»-'t, 8^t"-»-*t«, s'tr"p, stn-kf-'t, s"bnt'Vn,
sy"p^«rny"m»W, s«n»kd"k«, t"rdz, tr*zh"r, v"rt»g«, vVlz, w«m»n,
y«t, z«-"l"dzh% z**'"l"dzhnc«l.

ASPIRATE — ^ARTICULATIONS. 45

Xr. THE ASPIRATE, H.

130. The tetter H does not represent any fixed forma-
tion, but simply an aspiration of the s\icceeding element .
Thus, H before ^ is a whispered ^, before a a whispered
a, &c. ; differing, however, from the simple whispered
vowel by the softer commencement of the aspiration. H
before alphabetic u — which, it will be remembered, rep-
resents the combination ^-oo— denotes a whispered Y, as
in hue^ human^ &c., pronounced TTiue^^^TTiyoo^ &c.

131. The vowel aspirate (H) is very irregularly used
in many parts of England ; it is heard when it should be
silent, and silent when it should be sounded ; and that
with such perversity that pure initial vowels are almost
unheard, except in cases where they ought to be aspirated.
The coup de la glotte exercise on initial vowels (par. 30)
will correct this habit.

132. A northern peculiarity in the formation of H con-
sists in giving a degree of guttural compression to the
breath, which is extremely harsh and grating. This
fault will be avoided by pronouncing the h with a softly
sighing effect.

133. Many public speakers have a disagreeable custom
of giving a vocal commencement to H, as in hold^ hun- •
dred^ &c., pronounced uhold^ uhundred, &c. This
tasteless expedient seems to be adopted in the fear that
the delicate effect of h would otherwise be inaudible ; but
the succeeding vowel makes it heard.

St'lemt H.

134. In the following words and their derivatives^
though ^ is written, the vowels are not aspirated: —

Heir, heirship, heirloom, &c. ; honest, honesty, &c. ; honour,
honourable, &c. ; hostler ; hour, hour-glass, &c. ; humour, hu-
morous, &c.

XII. ARTICULATIONS.

135. The oral actions here denominated articula-
tions, are more commonly called *' consonants ; " but as
that term is defined to signify a letter that " cannot be
sounded by itself," and as in fact every element of speech

46 ARTICULATIONS.

may be perfectly sounded alone, the* name "Articula-
tions" — otherwise preferable — is a more appropriate
generic term for the oral actions.

136. In par. 120 the line of distinction is drawn be-
tween vowels and articulations : — showing the latter to
be ORAL sounds arising from obstruction or compression
of the breath behind the conjoined or closely approxi-
mated organs.

137. The oral puff^ or hiss^ which constitutes the ar-
ticulative effect, may be accompanied or not, by a glottal
sound. Each articulative action thus produces two dis-
tinct elements of speech, — a breath form, and a voiqe
form, — as in jeal and ^real, Migh and /^y,year and z^eer,
^ain and ^ane, whW^ and ic^ile, /ale and ^ale, ^ues and
i^se, trail and ^11, &c. These pairs of articulations have
precisely the same oral formation, and differ only in the
vocalized breath of the second, and the voiceless aspira-
tion of the first of the respective pairs.

138. The articulations are primarily divisible into two
<:lasses, — Obstructive and Continuous. In the former
class the breath is shut in by perfect contact of the articu-
lating organs ; in the latter it escapes through central,

.lateral, or interstitial apertures ; the organs being either
in partial contact or merely in approximation.

139. There are thus three modes of Articulation : —
I. Complete Contact ; II. Partial Contact ; III. Approx-
imation. «

/. Complete Contact.

140. The breath is obstructed at three points : (I.) by
contact of the lips ; (II.) by contact of the forepart of the
tongue with the anterior part of the palate ; (III.) by
contact of the back, or root of the tongue, with the pos-
terior part of the palate. At the first of these points are
formed the articulations P and B ; at the second, T and
D ; and at the third, K and G (*' hard") ; the former
of each of these pairs being the ''breath," and the latter
the ''voice" form of the articulation.

141 . While the oral organs are in obstructive contact,
the breath or voice may be made to issue by the nostrils.

ARTICULATIONS. 47

nrhis is the mode of formation of the English elements,
M', N, and Ng. For M, the lips are closed as in forming
P and B ; for N, the tongue is on the palate as for T and
D ; and for Ng, the posterior organs are in contact as in
forming K and G.

142. The nine Articulations hitherto described are
thus the result of but three actions of the mouth with the
modifications of —

Brbath, Voick, Nasal,

P B M

T D N

K G Ng

II. Partial Contact.

143. The next mode of articulative action, — partial
contact, — ^produces F and V, Th (thin), and Th (then),
the Welsh LI, the English L, and a Gaelic form of L
made with the middle instead of the tip of the tongue on
the palate.

III. Approximatiou.

144. The remaining mode of articulative action, —
organic approximation, — produces Wh and W, S and Z,
Sh and Zh, Yh and Y, Rh (Welsh), and R, the soft
Spanish sound of B, (bh), and the German, or Scotch
guttural Ch, with its vocal form, the smooth burr.

145. Relaxed approximation gives the trilled R, the
HOUGH burr and a corresponding vibration of the lips,
w^hich is used only interjectionallv in English.

146. In the system of '* Visible Speech" (see par.
39) — the Alphabet of which is complete for all Languages
and Dialects — the Scheme of Articulations includes fifty-
two elements. By means of diacritic signs this number
is multiplied several fold. The classification cannot be
shown by Roman letters. But all the possible hundreds
of articulate formations are represented by combinations
of only fourteen primary symbols. ^

147. The following General Scheme embraces all
the preceding articulations classified according to their
modes of formation : —

ARTICULATIONS.

148. General Scheme of Articulations.
Breath. Voice.

ORAL.

fP..

L 3

c
o

•Sa-
lt e

Ph8

•a
2i

ORAL.

.... B..

NASAL.

T...
K...

fF...
Th,

. D...
. G...

V...

Th.

LI (Welsh) L

= L (Gaello)

'(Ph). Bh (Spanish B)....

Rh R (smooth)

Ch (German) Gh

Wh W

s z....

Sh Zh

, Yh Y

(KRh) gR (burr)

(Rh) R (rough)

=s (lip vibration)

149. The three Nasals, M, N, Ng, are placed on the
same line with the Obstructives, to show that their oral
mechanism is the same ; but as they are continuous in
effect (nasally), although orally obstructive, they are
connected also with those elements which have Partial
Contact.

150. The following Table contains the English Articu-
lations arranged in theorder of their formation, commenc-
ing with those which have their seat farthest within the

ENGLISH ARTICULATIONS. 49

mouthy and proceeding to those which have the most an-
terior formation.

151. English Articulations,*

Breath. Voicb.

Oral. Oral. Nasal.

I a 8
K G Ng

4 6

H(ew) Y(ew) «

6 7

Sh Zh =

= R(rough) =

9
= fR (smooth) =

10
= L «

II 12 13

T D N

U 16

S Z

16 17

Th(in) Th (en) =

18 19

F V =

90 21

Wh W =

22 28 24

P B M

152. The student should be able to enounce the sounds
of these Articulations independently, and exactly as heard
in words. The following Table exhibits all the English
Articulations in each of the four positions : initial ^Jinal^
medial before a vow el ^ medial before an articulation.

* For a minute description of each of the English Articula-
tions, the defects to which they are liable, and the means of cor-
recting them, see ** Dictionary of English Sounds," in the work
referred to in note, par. 69.

t See par. 71.

ARTICULATIONS — DISTINCTNESS .

153. Table of Articulations,

..../ay

a/e

pa/er

a/ricot

....3ee

gle^e

neighbour

.. ..max

Bxm

&rmy

ar»«*d

Wh,

....why

♦

aivM\e

♦

. . . .way
..../ed

♦

away

♦

dea/

definite

de/lness

z;eal

leave

evil

ev(e)ning

Th,

....third

dear/^

e/^ic ,

e/^nic

Th,

.. ..Mese

see/^e

ei/^er .

wrea/^ed

....jell

\^s

essay

ertuary

zone

nose

rosy

rosebush

.... rare

♦

rarity

♦

..../eft

fe//

fe//ow

{eird

/ale

la/e

la/er

la/eness

.. ..i/ay

ait/

traflfer .

tradesman

»ave

vai»

waging

mai^^land

Sh,

....shoii

flej>5

fij^er

fij^monger

Zh,

^raffe

rou^^

pleasure
beyond

hedgerow

. . . ./e

me {French.)

♦

....cap

pSLcJk

packet

pac>&thread

. . . .^m

mu^

slu^^rd

smu^ler

Ng,

^ ^ ^ ♦

si»^

si»j^r

singly

XIII. PRINCIPLE OF DISTINCTNESS.

154. Every articulation consists of two parts — a
position and an action. The former brings the organs
into approximation or contact, and the latter separates
them, by a smart percussive action of recoil, from the
articulative position. This principle is of the utmost
importance to all persons whose articulation is imper-
fect. Distinctness entirely depends on its application.
Let it be carefully noted : — audibly percussive organic
separation is the necessary action of every articulation.

155. The Breath Obstructives, P-T-K, have no sound
in their position, and thus depend, for all their audibility,
on the puff that accompanies the organic separation.
This therefore must be clearly heard, or the letters are

* These articulations do not occur in this position in English.

ARTICULATIONS DEFECTS. 5 1

practically lost. The Voice Obstructives, B-D-G, have
a slight audibility in their " positions," from the abrupt
murmur of voice which distinguishes them from P, T,
and K ; but they are equally imperfect without the organic
" action " of separation and its distinctive percussiveness.
All the other elements being Continuous, have more or less
audibility in their " positions ;" but in every case distinct-
ness and fluency depend on the disjunctive completion of
the articulative " action."

XIV. DEFECTS OF ARTICULATION.

156. Various faulty formations of the elements of articu-
lation are extremely common. The Obstructives become
mere stops ^ and lack the necessary percussive termination ;
the voice articulations are deficient in throat-sound, and
thus not sufficiently distinguished from their breath cor-
respondents ; the Continuous elements are formed by a
faulty disposition of the organs, or by the wrong organs ;
or their " positions" are not sufficiently firm, and their
*' actions" altogether wanting or indistinctly languid.
The motions of the tongue and the lips are tremu-
lous or indefinite, too feebly or too strongly conjunctive,
too rapid or too tardy, &c., &c.

157. Lisping consists in partially obstructing the hiss-
ing stream of air, by contact of the point of the tongue
with the teeth, or by elevation of the lower lip to the
upper teeth.

158. Burring consists in quivering the uvula instead
of the point of the tongue, or approximating the soft palate
and back of the tongue instead of raising the tip of the
tongue to the antefior rim of the palatal arch.

159. Thickness of articulation consists in the action
of the middle instead of the point of the tongue in the
various lingual articulations. This last very common
kind of imperfection sometimes arises from congenital
inability to raise the tip of the tongue to thd palate — re-
movable by a simple operation — ^but most frequently it is
the result merely of a bad habit ^ perfectly removable by
energetic and careful application of lingual exercises.

ifo. In the work referred to in the note, par. 69, the
various errors of articulation — including Stuttering and

52 ORAL ORGANS.

Stammering — ^are the subjects of a more elaborate treat-
ment. The following is a summary of the correct —

Relative Pobitions op the Oral Organs.
The Tongue,

i6i. The TONGUE should be held back from the lower
teeth, in order that its actions may be independent of the
motion of the jaw : the tip should never be pressed into
the bed of the lower jaw ; the tongue should never touch
the lips, or be protruded between the teeth : it should be
rarely seen, and, when visible, the less the better. The
root of the tongue should be depressed as much as pos-
sible, to expand the back part of the mouth and give ful-
ness to the vowel sounds : — thi3 is the chief source of the
mellow " orotund " quality which distinguishes the voices
of well-practised speakers. The tongue should not be
pushedivom pointto point without disengagement in pass-
ing from word to word : but It should sharply finish the
articulations by a perfect recoil of the organ : — ^this insures
distinctness.

The Jaw,

162. The lower jaw should not, in speaking, fall be-
hind the upper, but the two ranges of teeth should be
kept as nearly in a line as possible. The teeth should
never come in contact : even when the lips are closed,
the teeth should not clash . The lower jaw should descend
freely for every vowel utterance, and, preparatorily, be-
fore the commencement of articulation : its motions must
be without jerking, equable, easy, and floating.

The Lips.

163. The lips should never hang loosely away from the
teeth, or be pursed, pouted, or twisted, but they should
maintain the form of the dental ranges as nearly as pos-
sible, lying equalliy and unconstrainedly against the teeh.
The habits of lick ng or biting the lips are offensive, and
should be carefully guarded against by public speakers.
The lips should be used as little as possible in articula-
tion ; the upper lip should remain almost quiescent, save
for emotive expression ; the articulative action being con-
fined to the lower lip.

Articulation — Anglicisms. 53

Labial Expressiveness.
164. Habits of speech are so peculiarly operative in
giving character to the lips, that an acute observer may
generally tell by their aspect whether a person's articula-
tion is good or bad ; and there are few^ stammerers who
do not show, to the practised eye, an indication of their
infirmity in the lips. The soft and pliant texture of the
lips is easily impressed by any habit ; and even a passing
emotion will mould their plastic substance to express it.
Habitual ill-nature everybody looks for and recognizes on
the lips ; and there sweet temper and cheerfulness have
their calm abode. Thus we generally find fixed on these
portals of the mouth a legible summary of the man. The
lips of the vulgar and ignorant are " arrant tell-tales,"
which there is no belying ; and mental superiority cannot
conceal itself from labial disclosure. The lips refuse to
screen the lie they may be forced to speak. It may be
said, indeed, that falsehood cannot utter itself by these
*' miraculous organs" of truth ; but conscious rectitude,
integrity, and virtue shine through the lips, and give irre-
fragable evidence there, when other testimony is absent
or doubtful.

XV. ANGLICISMS OF ARTICULATION.

165. The leading Anglicism of Articulation has been
already pointed out in remarks on the letter R (par. 71,
et seq,) This element is distinctly articulated <?;?/^ ^^-
yore a vowel; but less with a trill, than a smooth buzz-
ing vibration of the tongue. In other positions, the letter
R is faintly, or not at all articulated. R has a vowel
sound (No. 10) after any long vowel, before any articu-
lation, and when final.

166. When final R is followed by a word beginning
with a vowel, the R is articulated^ to avoid hiatus be-
tween the words. But the Cockney custom of interpos-
ing R between two vowels, as in the sentences, " Is
Papa r at home?'' — " What an idea r // isV' &c., is
not to be countenanced. This vulgarism is confined to
words ending with the open vowels, Nos. 8, 9, and some-
times 13 ; the formative apertures of which are of nearly
the same expansion as that of the English (R=) 10.

54 ARTICULATION — SCOTTICISMS.

167. English speakers too commonly confound the
Breath with the Voice forms of the articulations Y and
W, and so pronounce alike such words as hue and you y
which and witch ^ whale and wa//, whither and wither ^
whig and wig^ &c.

K'G^ as in Kind^ Guards ike,

168. In pronouncing such words as key and cawy
geese and gauze^ it will be observed that the obstructive
position of the tongue for the initial articulation is not
precisely the same before the open as before the close
vowel ; accommodating itself to the formation of the sub-
sequent vowel, the tongue is much more advanced before
ee than before aw» Indeed, the points of contact are not
exactly the same before any two vowels. The closest
lingual vowels are associated with tlie most anterior con-
sonant positions, and the open and labial vowels with the
most posterior. A peculiar Anglicism arises from viola--
tion of this principle in certain cases. K and G before
the open vowels, in card^ guards kind^ guile^ g^^lt
&c., are articulated from the anterior instead of the
posterior positions ; so that the breath which follows the
articulative *' action " has the vowel quality of ee; and
an effect is produced something like that of the articula-
tion y. This effect is greatly overdone by those who pro-
nounce ee ox y in such words. *' K^^-ind," and " k^-ard,""
are affected caricatures of this delicate Anglicism. The
following and their derivatives, are the leading words-
that partake of this peculiarity : —

card, kind, garden, guard, girl, guide, guile, guise.

XVI. SCOTTICISMS OF ARTICULATION.

169. The leading Scotticism of Articulation consists in
the uniform and rough trilling of the tongue for the let-
ter R, in all situations.

170. Another very general Scotch peculiarity consists
in giving a vowel sound to the letter L when final, espe-
cially when it follows the 5th vowel ; the L, in such words
as sell^ hell^ wcll^ swells &c. , being pronounced nearly like
ul. Thus — " seh-«/, beh-«/," &c.

ARTICULATION HIBERNICISMS. 55

171 . The articulation Ng is pronounced as n before th
— as \n lengthy strength ,t &c. ; and in the final anaccented
syllable ing^ — as in seeing^ believing^ &c. ; pronounced
le;2th, stre/ith, seei», believiw, &c.

172. The Breath Obstructive Articulations, especially
the letter T, are, in the West of Scotland, pronounced
without any articulative action^ but with a mere glottal
catch after the preceding vowel, as in better^ butter^ &c. ;
pronounced be-er, bu-er, &c.

173. The Breath form of the articulation Th, is pro-
nounced instead of the Voice form, in the words Mough,
Mither, wiM, beneaM, pa/As, &c. A substitution of
Breath for Voice forms of articulation is also very gener-
ally heard in the words of^ as^ ne/^ew, &c., pronounced
off^ ass, nefyoo, &c. ; and the substitution of Voice for
Breath forms is likewise common in the words i/", uj,
transact, philosophic, &c., pronounced, iv, uz, tranzact^
fhilozofhic^ &c,

1 74. The omission of Y before ee, and of W before oo,
as in year, yield, wool, &c., is another northern peculiar-
ity. Ludicrous ambiguities sometimes arise from these
omissions; as when we hear of an old man "bending
under the weight of (y)ears and infirmities."

175. The addition of a guttural effect to H and Wh is
a Celtic peculiarity — harsh and unpleasing to the unac-
customed ear.

1 76. The pronunciation of / before the syllabic sounds
of 7 and '« in cas/le, apos/le, pes/le, often, is a Scotticis'n
almost confined to these words.

XVII. HIBERNICISMS OF ARTICULATION.

177. Irish Articulation is characterized by a general
looseness of oral action, which gives a peculiar softness
to the transition from an obstructive articulation to the
succeeding vowel. The effect is coarsely imitated by in-
terpolating an A between the elements, as in p(h)ut for
put, t(h)ake for take, c(h)oat, for coat, &c.

178. The sound of t, especially at the end of a word,
is, from the same cause, but little different from that of
s ; such words as bet and hat being pronounced nearly as
bess and hass.

56 AMERICANISMS — SYLLABIC QUANTITY.

179. The sound of /final is formed with a convexity
of the middle of the tongue which gives the / the effect of
Italian^/, as in well, smile^ till^ &c., where the final ele-
ment has almost the sound of eel. This is the converse
of the Scotch peculiarity noticed in par. 1 70 where / has
the open quality of uL

180. The sound of S before an articulation has the ef-
fect of Sh ; as in sky^ scrape^ sleeps snow, star, stripe,
sweet, &c., pronounced shky, shcrape, shleep, &c.

XVIII. AMERICANISMS OF ARTICULATION.

181 . The leading Americanism of Articulation is asso-
ciated with the letter R. This element has none of the
sharpness of the English R, which, however softly, is
struck from the tip of the tongue. The American R has
a very slight vibration, with the tongue almost in the po-
sition for the French vowel e mute. The high convex
position of the tongue for the American R final or before
an articulation — when the sound is almost that of the
English Y — has been noticed in par. 112.

182. The feeble and indefinite vibration of the Amer-
ican articulate R leads to a habit of labializing the sound
when it is between vowels, as in very, spirit, &c. This
gives a firmness to the articulation, but altogether changes
its character : the R becomes long and almost syllabic.
Thus : ve-wr-y, spi-wr-it, &c.

XIX. SYLLABIC QUANTITY.

183. Two degrees of vowel quantity — long and short,
— are generally recognized, but there are many minuter
degrees arising from the influence of articulations on pre-
ceding vowels. Thus all vowels are comparatively short
before Breath articulations, and comparatively long before
Voice articulations ; but they are shorter before another
vowel than before any articulation. Among vowels
separately considered, there are three degrees of quantity ;
I. Short monophthongs ; II. Long monophthongs ; III.
Diphthongs. Among articulations there diX^Jive degrees ;
I. Breath Obstructive; II. Breath Continuous; III.

SYLLABIC QJJANTITY.

Voice Obstructive ; IV. Voice Close Continuous ; V.
Voice Open Continuous, — or Liquids.

184. The Open Continuous Articulations, or Liquids,
are L, and the Nasals M, N, and Ng. R has been com-
monly included as a Liquid, but it has none of the coales-
cent and quantitative characteristics of the Liquid. The
term " Liquid " is properly applied only to elements that
flow into^ and seem to be absorbed by, the articulation
that follows. L, M, N, and Ng are peculiarly affected
ty the succeeding articulation. Before Breath articula-
tions, they are so extremely short as hardly to add any
perceptible quantity to the syllables, as in lap and lamp^
quit and quilt ^ flit andjf/w/, thick and thinks &c. : but
before Voice Articulations they are long and sonorous,
and add greatly to the duration of the syllabic utterance ;
as in head and held^ bad and band^ juggle And Jungle^
&c. R is so softened away as almost to lose all articula-
tive quality before an articulation ; but its sound is not ab-
sorbed as that of the Liquids ; — it is rather slurred and
omitted.

185. The following^ Lists contain examples of Mono-
syllabic Combinations arranged in the order of their quan-
titative duration, — the shortest first.

186. Breath Articulations.

1. Up, sit, black.

2. If, both, gas, wash.

3. Help, felt, elk, tent, lamp,

dreamt, bank.

4. Self, health, else, Welsh,

ninth, dance, nymph,
strength.

5. Apt, act.

6. Steps, depth, feast, eighth

(t-th), watch, ox.

7. Left, wasp, fast, ask.

8. Safes, fifth, deaths.

9. Gulped, milked, stamped,

inked.
10. Alps, bolts, belch, bulks,
prints, inch, imps,
tempts, thanks.

11. Gulfs, healths, tenths,

nymphs, lengths.

12. Adepts, sects.

13. Shap*st, sat'st, patched,

next.

14. Thefts, asps, costs, desks.

15. Fifths.

16. Twelfths.

17. Help'st, halt'st, filched,

milk*st, want'st,
flinched, limp'st,
tempt'st, think'st.

18. Texts.

19. Sixths.

58 DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS.

187. Voice Articulations.

Babe, trade, plague.

9. Graves, balhes.

Leave, bathe, ease, rouge.

10. Helm.

Ale, lame, own, tongue.

II. Bulbed.

Bulb, old, hemmed, end.

12. Bulbs, builds, bilge, lands

wronged.

finds, fringe

Delve, ells, aims, bronze.

13. Delved, bronzed.

pangs.

14. Shelves.

Stabbed, begged.

15. Helmed.

Cabs, adge, edge, eggs.

16. Films.

Saved, seethed, grazed.

17. Judged.

rouged.

18. Bilged, changed.

188. Mixed Articulations.

Breadth.

5. Hold'st.

Stabb'st, add*st, begg'st.

6. Delv'st.

Striv'st.

7. Lov*d*6t.

Fail'st.

XX. DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS.

189. In many of the above combinations there is a dif-
ficulty of distinct enunciation which will be readily re-
moved by reference to the principle explained in par. 154.
Give to every articulation its appropriate '' action.^*

190. A tendency to indistinctness is especially felt in
combinations of the Breath Obstructives — such as // and
kt^ which are of very frequent occurrence. All verbs
ending m p or k have the sounds of pt or kt in the past
tense, as stopped^ walked <^ &c. The following is a list
of words for exercise. Pronounce the pt and ct like the
words "/iV " and " Jkii" whispered :— t-

Apt, strapped, kept, slept, whipped, shipped, lopped, cupped,
shaped, steeped, piped, hoped, cooped, chapter, styptic, reptile,
rapture, captain ; act, tact, sect, erect, strict, hacked, shocked,
ducked, poked, looked, walked, achec^, leaked, liked, cactus,
lacteal, affected, lecture, picture, dictate, instructive, octave,
doctor.

191. The following words embody similar principles
of difficulty. Repeat each word several times — quickly
and with firm accentuation : —

Acts, beef, beef-broth, chaise, come, copts, cut, cloud-capt,
eighths, (t-ths,) etiquette, faith, fifths, inked, judged, knitting.

DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 59-

laurel, literal, literally, literary, literarily, linen, little, litter,
memnon, mimic, move, muff, needle, puff, puffed, plural, pea-
cock, quick, quaked, quiet, rail, railroad, raillery, ruler, rural,
rivalry, roller, runnel, saith, sash, sashes, search, such, sects,,
sixths, sooth, soothe, Scotch, slash, sloth, slain, slipped, snail,
statist, statistics, shuts, this, thither, thief, thatch, thrash, texts,
twelfths, vivid, vivify, vivification, weave, wife, weep, whiff, whip.

192. The following phrases and sentences contain ele-
mentary sequences and alternations which are organically
diiHcult. Repeat each sentence two or three times with-
out stopping : —

Very well. Farewell in welfare. Puff up the fop. Fine white
wine vinegar with veal. Velvet weaver. Weave the withes.
Five wives weave withes. May we vie ? Pretty, frisky, playful
fellow. A very wilful whimsical fellow. A comic mimic. Move
the muse by mute manoeuvres. Bring a bit of buttered brown
bread. Such pranks Frank's prawns play in the tank. A paltry
portly puppy. Portly poultry. A wet white wafer. Beef tea
and veal broth. Put the cut pumpkin in a pipkin. Pick pepper
peacock. Coop up the cook. A bad big dog. A big mad dog
bit bad Bob. Don't attack the cat, Dick. Keep the tippet ticket.
Come quickly. Catch the cats. Kate hates tight tapes. Tie tight
Dick's kite. Geese cackle, cattle low, crows caw, cocks crow.
The tea-caddy key. The key of the tea-caddy. A knapsack strap.
Pick up the pips. Take tape and tie the cape. Kate's baked cakes.
Quit contact. A school coal-scuttle. Put the pot on the top of
the poop. A great big brig's freight. Bid Bob good bye. Pick
a pitcher full of pippins. Come and cut the tongue, cook. The
bleak breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms. Dick dipped
the tippet and dripped it. Fanny flattered foppish Fred. Giddy
Kittie's tawdry gewgaws. Kitchen chit-chat. The needy needle-
woman needn't wheedle. Fetch the poor fellow's feather pillow.
A very watery western vapour. A sloppy, slippery, sleety day.
Catch Kate's ten cats. The kitten killed the chicken in the kitchen.
Six thick thistle sticks. She says she shall sew a sheet. A sure
sign of sunshine. The sun shines on the shop signs. A shocking
sottish set of shopmen. Such a sash. A shot-silk sash shop.
A short soft shot-silk sash. A silly shatter-brained chatterbox.
Shilly-shally, silly Sally. Sickening, stickling, shilly-shally sil-
liness. It is a shame, Sam, these are the same, Sam, 'tis all a
sham, Sam, and a shame it is to sham so, Sam. Fetch six chaises.
Catch the cats. Pas que je sache. She thrust it through the
thatch. Thrice the shrew threw the shoe. The slow snail's slime.
A swan swam over the sea, swim, swan, swim, well swam, swan-
I snuff shop snuff, do you snuff shop snuff? She sells sea-shells.
Some shun sunshine. The sweep's suitably sooty suit. A rural
ruler. 'Truly rural. Rural raillery. A laurel crowned clown.
Rob Low's lum reeks. Let reason rule your life. A lump of

«6o ACCENT.

raw red liver. Literally literary. Railway literature. A ludent
rubicund rotatory luminary. Robert loudly rebuked Richard,
who ran lustily roarng round the lobby. Don't run along the
wrong labyrinth. H.s right leg lagged in the race. Don't run
■along the lane in the rain. Lucy likes light literature. Let me.
recollect a little. A little tittle. A little ninny. A little knitting
needle. Let little Nellie run. A menial million. A million
minions. A million menial minions. We shall be in an inn in
an instant. Don't go on, Ann, in an uninanimated manner.

193. The following phrases and sentences require
careful attention to avoid ambiguity. Reiterate the am-
biguous portions without hiatus : —

Laid in the cold ground, (not coal ground.) Half I see the
panting spirit sigh, (not spirit's eye.) Be the same in thine own
act and valour as thou art in desire, (not thy known.) Oh, the
torment of an ever-meddling memory, (not a never meddling.)
All night it lay an ice-drop there, (not a nice drop ) Would that
all difference of sects were at an end, (not sex.) Oh, studied de-
•ceit, (not study.) A sad dangler, (not angler.) Goodness cen-
tres in the heart, (not enters.) His crime moved me, (not cry.)
Chaste stars, (not chase tars.) She could pain noboby, (not pay.)
Make clean our hearts, (not lean.) His beard descending swept
his aged breast, (not beer.)

XXI. ACCENT OR SYLLABIC STRESS.

194. Every word of more than a single syllable has
one of its syllables made prominent, by superior force
of articulative or vocal effort: — this is called " accent. ^^

195. When the accented syllable of a word is the third,
or any syllable beyond the third, from the beginning, a
slight accentual stress is laid on some former syllable to
support a rhythmical pronunciation. Thus : —

(I.) If the primary accent is on the third syllable a
secondary accent is on ^^ first; (IL ) when the primary
is on Xh^ fourth syllable, the secondary may be either on
iS\Q^ first or second; (HI.) when the primary accent is
on the fifths the secondary will be on the second syllable,
or there may be two secondary accents, namely, on the
first and third syllables ; and, (IV.) when the primary
accent is on the sixth syllable, there will be two second-
aries — distributed either on ^e first and thirds the first
-and fourth^ or the second and fourth syllables. ' The
primary accent never falls beyond the sixth syllable.

ACCENT.

196. The following table exhibits all the varieties of
English accentuation. The asterisks (*) denote the ac--
cent; the large dots, secondary accent; and the small
dotS) unaccented syllables.

197. Table of Verbal Accents,

♦ • • • • • ♦ • • • «

• ••• •♦•• ..*.. ..■♦
♦ ♦••• ,.i|i...

• ♦ *...*.

• • • ♦

• • • ♦ •
••••••

• ••»•••

••••♦•

* •

♦ • •

198. Words Illustrative of the Preceding Table.

1. Wayward, temperate, temporary, necessariness.

2. Awayj remember, contemporal, inveterately, un»
necessarily.

3. Recommend, contemplation, anatomical, disingen-^
uously, inconsiderableness.

4. Superintend, epigrammatic, superabundantly.

5. Misunderstand, subordination, extemporaneous, in-
valitudinary.

6. Personification, impracticability.
Antipestilential, indestructibility.
Intercolumniation, incommunicability, incompre-^

hensibility.

Principles of Accentuation,

199. The general principles that regulate the position
of the accent, are the following: — I. The seat of accent
tends to the penultimate syllables of dissyllables^ and to-
the ante-penultimate o{ polysyllables,^ if no other princi-^
pie occur to thwart this tendency ; as in aspect, comfort,
aggravate, orator, &c.

II. The accent of the primitive word is generally re-

62 ACCENT.

tained in derivatives, as in accept, acceptable, commend,
commendable, &c.

III. Words of the same orthography^ but of different
parts of speech^ (especially nouns and verbs,) are gener-
ally dijBtinguished by difference of accent, as in at'tribute,
attrib'ute, ac'cent, accent', rebel, rebel', &c. The verbs
in such cases have the lower accent.

IV. Prefixes^ terminations, and syllables common to a
number of words, are generally without accent ; such as
ab^ be^ con^ in^ re^ tnis^ ness^ less^ ly^ full^ sion^ tion^
ing^ able^ ible^ ally^ ary^ &c.

200. When three or more syllables follow the accent,
a secondary force is generally accordedf to one of them for
the sake of avoiding, by an agreeable rhythm, the hurry-
ing effect of a long cluster of unaccented syllables. Thus,
in such words as the following, the voice will be more or
less distinctly poised on the second syllables after the
accent : —

Ab^dica'tive, accessoriness, arbitrarily, calculator^, figura-
tively, gentlewoman, indicator, opinionativeness, secretaryship,
temporarily.

201. In all the preceding accentual illustrations, the
primary and secondary accents are separated by one or
two syllables. They may, however, occur in proximate
isyllables, as in the words A'men", fare' well". In pro-
nouncing these words, the time of an unaccented sylla-
ble intervenes between the accents. Thus, " Amen," and
" eighty men," " farewell," and " fare thee well," occupy
exactly the same time in utterance.

202. Words are frequently used in poetry with false
accentuation. The reader must not sacrifice ordinary
prose propriety to suit the casual poetic accent. A com-
promise may generally be effected by accentuating both
the regularly and the rhythmically accented syllables.
Thus the words " ravines" and *' supreme," in the fol-
lowing lines, may be pronounced rav'ines' and su'preme' :

** Ye ice-falls I ye, that from the mountain's brow

Adown enormous rav'ines' slope amain I"
** Our su'preme' foe, in time, may much remit"

ACCENTS. 63

Sentential Accents.

203. In the pronunciation of sentences, the words are
not delivered with separate accentuation, as in a vocabu-
lary, but they are collocated into accentual groups^ ac-
cording to grammatical connection and relative value to
the sense. Certain classes of words are generally 2/»ac-
cented ; such as articles^ prepositions^ pronouns^ aux-
iliary verbs^ and conjunctions. These are primarily
accented, only when they are used with antithesis.
The same principles which regulate the secondary ac-
centuation of single words, apply also to the grammatical
groups, or " oratorical words."

204. When words, the accentual syllables of which are
the same, are used in contrast, the primary accent is
transposed to the syllable of difference^ and the regular
primary receives a secondary accent ; as in com'prehen"d,
pronounced com'prehen'd when opposed to ap' prehend',
lit'erair'y and literary, affect' and effect', in'Torm'
and re"form', ex"per and im"per, mor^tal'lty and im"-
mortal'ity, re"lig'ion and ir'relig'ion, &c. This trans-
position always takes place in the second word of the
contrasted pair, but not on the first, unless the contrast
is distinctly instituted on its utterance.

205. The same principle of contrast or antithesis, ex-
pressed or implied, regelates the accentuation or emphasis
of sentences. Any phrase or sentence containing a word
or IDEA that has been previously expressed or implied
in the context, will have the primary accent— or the em-
phasis—on one of the other words, even though of the
most subordinate class, conjunction, preposition, pro-
noun, or article. Much judgement is displayed by a good
reader in this accentual recognition of included thoughts
or synonymous expressions. Thus in the word " un-
feeling '' in the following lines, the accent should fall on
the negative prefix " ««," to show that the word " tender,"
before used, includes the idea of " feeling."

** To each, his sufferings ; all are men,
Condemn'^ alike to groan ;
The tender, for another's pain,
The tf»feeling, for his own." — Gray,

206. The subject of Emphasis will be found separately
and fully illustrated in a subsequent section.

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION.

PART SECOND.

INTONATION AND CLAUSING.

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

1 . There is an essential difference between the move-
ments of the voice in speech and in song. In singing,
the voice dwells monotonously, for a definite time, upon
every note, and leaps (or sometimes slides) upwards or
downwards to the next. In speaking, the end of each
note is invariably a slide, and the voice rarely dwells for
a measurable space on any part of a note, but is con-
stantly changing its pitch by upward or downward move-
ment, or inflexion,

2. The kind and degree of inflexion with which words
are pronounced are peculiarly expressive of their rela-
tion to the context, or to the feeling of the speaker. Thus
the rising turns are connective^ i^eferential^ dubious^
appellatory^ or tender in expression ; and the falling
inflexions are disjunctive^ independent^ positive^ man-
datory^ or harsh.

3. The vocal expressions constitute a Natural Lan-
guage, of the import of which mankind are intuitively
conscious. The language of tones is most perfectly de-
veloped when the feelings are excited, and the speaker
is free from all restraint. Children, before their utterance
has become denaturalized by school-discipline in " read-
ing," speak with the most beautifully expressive intona-
tion ; and all persons of sprightly temperament deliver
themselves, in animated conversation, with littie short
of the expressive perfection of infantile oratory.

MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS.

4. The universally observed difference in the intona-
tions of reading and speaking arises, in a very great
measure, from the manner in which children are allowed
to read-^in entire ignorance or neglect of the principles
of intonation. A natural expressiveness may, and should,
be given, even to the A, B, C, or the Multiplication
Table.

II. MECHANISM OF THE INFLEXIONS.

5. Inflexions are either simple or compound in mech-
anism. Simple inflexions consist of /Te^<? points : — the
pitch, accented; and the termination, unaccented.
Thus :—

nsing, ,

falling, • . (s)

Compound inflexions consist of three points, by the union
of the two simple movements with one accent. Thus : —

rising,

(-)

falling, ,•. M

6. The most important fundamental principle of in-
flexion is primarily a mechanical one ; for, if the inflex-
ions are faultily formed, they will be ^either pleasing nor
expressive, but harsh to the ear, false to the sentiment,
and injurious to the voice. An illustrative diagram will
best explain this principle.

Simple Inflexions.

/ '

/ /

. \

\ ^

'' /

\ \

This diagram represents the speaking voice divided into
an upper and a lower half, the middle line denoting the
middle pitch, the upper line the highest, and the lower
line the lowest pitch.

7. If inflexions are commenced on the middle tone of
the voice, as in tiie first division of the diagram, the
speaker, manifestly, has but half his vocal compass

MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS. 6 J

through which to range upwards or downwards; and
the voice will erack, or croak, shrilly or hoarsely, if a
forcible or emphatic inflexion be attempted.

8. Still more limited and powerless will the inflexions
be, if rising turns are pitched above, or falling turns below,
the middle tone, as in the second section of the diagram.

o. Grace and energy are attained by depressing the
radical part of the inflexion below the middle tone for a
rise^ and by elevating it above the middle tone for 2ifall^
as in the third and fourth sections of the diagram ; the
greater or less extent of the accentual elevation or depres-
sion of pitch corresponding to the emphasis of the utter-
ance.

ID. Thus, the most extensive rising inflexion may not
actually rise higher than a comj>aratively weak and un-
impassioned movement, — ^but it will begin lower ^ and
with greater radical intensity ; and, on the same principle,
the most extensive falling inflexion will not be that which
falls lowest, but that which, with radical intensity, begins
highest.

1 1 . Unemphatic inflexions are formed as in the first
and second divisions of the diagram.

12. The tones are capable of great variety, both in radi-
cal pitchy and al$o in extent of inflexion. The rise or fall
may be made through any interval, and with an almost
endless diversity of pitch.

13. The mechanism of the compound inflexions exem-
plifies the same principles of vocal range. The compound
Rise consists of a simple falling tone finished with upward
inflexion ; and its commencement (the accented part) is
pitched within the lower half of the voice in the less em-
phatic mode, and in the upper half, in the more emphatic.
The compound Fall consists of a simple rising tone fin-
ished by downward inflexion, and its accented commence-
ment is pitched within the upper half of the voice in the
less emphatic mode ; and in the lower half, in the more
emphatic.

14. In the utterance of these compound tones, the fol-
lowing principle is to be noted. The voice reaches the
turning point in the pronunciation of a single syllable.
The termination of the tone may be prolonged through

bb NOTATION OF INFLEXIONS.

any number of subsequent syllables. The termination
may extend to the same pitch as the commencement, or
it may stop short of it, or go beyond it.

15. The following diagram illustrates the mechanism
of the compound inflexions. A rising Double Wave is
exhibited in the third division of the diagram. This
consists of an ordinary Compound Fall, finished with up-
ward inflexion. The voice reaches the second turning
point in the pronunciation of the accented syllable. A
falling Double Wave is a possible compound tone that is
never used. Its effect is not pleasing. The rising Double
Wave is frequently employed, and its effect is beautifully
expressive.

, Comfoun d Inflexions \

Compound Rise. Compound Fall, Double Wave,

TUlt

III. NOTATION OF THE INFLEXIONS.

16. The NOTATION of the inflexions* is founded on the
principle of their mechanism. The marks are placed
below the word when the pitch of the accented syllable is
in the lower half of the voice, and above the word, when
the inflexion is pitched within the upper half. Thus : —

Well. Ah I Yes. Go! Not I! Beware! You! Oh!

17. The notation used in subsequent exercises repre-
sents yb«r de^-rees J which J (without any attempt at strict
musical accuracy,) may be taken to correspond generally
with the intervals of the second, third, fifth, and octave.

18. The intervals of the semitone and the minor third
have a peculiarly plaintive effect. The cry of " Fire ! "
may be assumed as an appropriate key-word^ as it is uni-

* See ** Expressive Exercises," in a subsequent section.

EXPRESSIVENESS OF INFLEXIONS. 69

versally uttered with plaintive intonation. Pronounce
this word with natural expressiveness, and alternate with
it any words of fear or sadness, with similar inflexion,
and tiie plaintive intervals may be satisfactorily practised
even by the " ear "-less and unmusical student

Fire! Fire! Alas! Ah! Well-a-day ! Farewell ! Ah me!

IV. PREPARATORY PITCH.

19. Inflexion is associated with accent. The radical
part of the inflexion coincides with the accentual force.

' When any syllable or syllables precede the accent, they
should be pronounced in the opposite half of the voice —
high when the accent is /t?w, and low when the accent is
high. Thus : —

What now } Indeed ! All right. Away !

Not I ! Take care ! Aha ! Oh really !

20. This principle of opposition of preparatory pitch
gives distinctiveness to two Modes of each inflexion ; the
one mode having the accent lower, and the other mode
having the accent higher, than the pre-accentual pitch.
A farther difference in the expressive force of each tone
depends on the direction in which the pre-accentual syl-
lables are inflected, /. ^., whether towards ox from the
accentual pitch. The latter is in all cases the more em-
phatic variety* (See Diagrams, page 71.)

V. EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE INFLEXIONS.

2 1 . The student, with no other than the mechanical guide
for the formation of the inflexions, would be apt to form
jerking and angular tones instead of the smoothly rounded
transitions of natural intonation. The following sum-
mary of the expressiveness of the various vocal move-
ments will assist in giving to the exercises that quality
of conversational effect which is, above all, to be culti-
vated.

TO EXPKESSIVENBSS OF INFLEXIONS.

I. Rising Tones appeal : —

1 . To bespeak attention to something to follow.

2. For solution of doubt.

3. For an expression of the hearer's will.

4. To question possibility of assertion.

II. Falling Tones assert : —

1. To express completion of a statement.

2. To express conviction.

3. To express the speaker's will.

4. To express impossibility of denial.

22. Compound tones unite with the ordinary effect of
the rising or falling termination, a suggestion oi antithe^
sis^ or reference to something previously understood.
Thus :—

Simple Appeal . . . Will you ?

Referential Appeal . Will you ? (in view of cer-
tain circumstances.)

Simple Assertion . . I will

Referential Asssertion. I will, (notwithstanding cer-
tain circumstances.)

23. The inflexions have also a sentimental as well as a
logical expressiveness. Thus : —

Rising tones express attractive sentiments ; as pity^
admiration, love, &c.

Falling tones express repulsive sentiments ; as re-
proach, contempt, hatred, &c.

24. In practice, always associate some appropriate sen
timent or logical formula with the various tones. Thus,
in pronouncing words for inflective exercise, associate
witli —

Simple Rise, ist mode, Inquiry; 2d mode. Surprise,

Simple Fall, ** Assertion; ** Command,

Compound Rise, ** Remonstrance; " Threatening-.
Compound Fall, ** Scorn; ** Sarcasm.

GAMUT OF INFLEXIONS.

25. Or prefix, audibly or mentally, to the words to be
inflected, Uie formulas subjoined to the Tones in the fol-
lowing diagrams : —

Gamut of Inflexions.
Simple Rise*

J-

Is it — Can it be—

Simple Fall.

■-/■-

,/. !i —

Itis-

It must

Compound Rise.

It is not— It cannot be—

Compound Flail.

z-i.

-7-C-

But it is-

JOr rather—

26. In applying the formulas " Is it ?" '* It is," &c., pro-
nounce them 2^fiemphatically, and in the opposite half
of the voice to that in which the word to be inflected is
pitched. Thus :-:-

Acid?

»•• Acid.

Acid, ubimim

'■•* Xcid? :Xcid. '""^

Acid? itmoMtu BMttu Acid.

72 , EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS.

VI. EXERCISES ON THE INFLEXIONS.

27. Pronounce each of the following words with the
logical or sentimental expressiveness of the eight varieties
of speaking tones. Long monosyllables and words which
begin with the accented syllable, being the easiest of in-
flexion, are put first.

Ah, ay, eh, oh, you, he, she, thej, vre, me, I, now, so, how, no,
see, go, fie, woe, yours, theirs, ours, mine, none, seem, home,
here, there, where, all, come, oh, gone, shall, her, sir, us, yes, if,
oflf, look, it, that, but, not, out, what, up, stop ; — acid, airy, au-
thor, blessing, circle, city, dogma, doctrine, easy, gorgeous,
greedy, hajjpy, idle, loving, mighty, murder, queenly, rosy,
soothing, virtue, welcome;— character, circumstance, calculate,
dangerous, enemy, feelingly, finical, hardihood, hideous, liberty,
ornament, plausible, roguery, satisfy, somebody, troublesome,
victory, yesterday; bibliopole, celibacy, cursorily, despicable,
elevated, fascinating, gentlemanly, homicidal, intimately, liter-
ally, literary, mannerliness, meditative, missionary, necessary,
pettifogger, recreative, serviceable.

28. Pronounce the following words with well-marked
preparatory tones in the opposite half of the voice to that
in which the accented syllable is pitched : —

Advertisement, away, begone, beware, contemporary, deter-
mine, disinterested, forsaken, impossible, impracticable, indeed,
intemperate, litigious, opinionative, remember, Satanic, subordi-
nate, suspicious, uncompromising, undoubtedly; — acrimonious,
bacchanalian, benefactor, detrimental, disagreeableness, epigram-
matic, genealogical, hieroglyphic, hypochondriacal, ignominious,
liberality, notwithstanding, observation, plenipotentiary, recom-
mendation, understanding.

29. In such words as the following, containing unac-
cented or secondarily accented syllables before secondary
accents, the preparatory tones are susceptible of variety.

Thus : — Incomprehensibility or Incomprehensibility.

• •

Artic'ula"^tion, cir'cumstan'tiar'ity, corrup'tibir'ity, coun'ter-
rev'olu"tion, demo'raliza"tion, disad'vanta"geously, disqual'ifi-
ca"tion, eccle'sias"tical, ency'clopae"dia, enthu'sias"tic, hallu'ci-
na"tion, im'mate'riar'ity, impen'etrabir'ity, imper'spicu"ity,
impos'sibir'ity, in'comprehen'sibil"ity, in^commu'nicabir'ity,
in'deter'mina''tion, in'tercommu'nica' tion, irrep'arabir'ity, ir-
rep'rehen^sibleness, i'soper'imef'rical, person'ifica"tion.

EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS. 73

30. Pronounce the following sentences, &c., with the
tones indicated : —

Consultative, Communicative,

Are you going? I must, at once.

Can you not staj ? . . . . Unfortunately, I cannot.

Indeed? Indeed.

Sug'g'estive.

Don't fail I Certainly not.

Well, be sure! Sure? Why?

You will find out! . . . . Really 1

Yes, indeed I Indeed !

Passionate.
Do you mock me ? . . . . Away with you !

Hah! Begone!

I will not be threatened ! There's a hero !

Plaintive.
Ah me! Too true! No more? No more!

Vn. RESUMfi OF THE PRINCIPLES OF MECHANISM,
MELODY AND MEANING OF THE INFLEXIONS.

31. (I.) The beginning, relatively to the end, of a sim-
ple rising inflection is low; of a ^vax^X^ falling inflection,
his^h.

(II.) The inflection begins on the accent; which is
Ihus pitched comparatively low for a rising, high for a
falling inflection.

(III.) The rise or fall is continued directly upwards
or downwards from the accent, through whatever num-
ber of unaccented or secondarily accented syllables may
follow.

74 ViSRBAL GROVPING.

(FV.) Any syllables before the accent are pronounced
from an opposite pitch — high before a low accent, low
before a high, to increase the emphasis of the accentual
elevation or depression.

(V.) Rising tones appeal; Falling tones assert.

(VI.) The Compound Rise consists of a falling or as-
sertive tone, followed by a rising or querulous one, and
expresses a qusry with insinuated assertion.

(VII.) The Compound Roll consists of a rising or
querulous, followed by a falling or assertive tone, and
expresses an assertion with insinuated query.

(VIII.) The rising Double Wave has the logical effect
of the ordinary compound rise, but with peculiar em-
phasis.

(IX.) The melody of PREPARATORY pitch is the same
for the compound as for the simple movements.

VIII. PRINCIPLES OF VERBAL GROUPING.

32. The principles on which words are phraseologi-
cally united furnish a series of exercises of the very high-
est utility, as affording means of careful application of all
the orthoepic and inflective principles. The following
STAGES of VERBAL GROUPING should each be separately
practised in the reading of varied styles of composition,
until facility of spontaneous grouping is attained. The
exercise is, besides, valuable as a grammatical one.

Stages of Verbal Grouping.

33. 1st Stage. Pronounce every word with separate
accentuation and inflexion, except the articles a, an^
and the,

WAR. — H. More,

O, — war ! — the proof— and — scourge— of— man's — fell'n — state I
After —the brightest — conquest — ^what — ^appears —
Of — all — thy — glories ? — for — the vanquished, — chains !
For — the proud — victors, — ^what? — ^Alas ! — dominion —
O'er — desolated — nations !

34. 2d Stage. Unite prepositions (as well as arti-
cles) in one accentual group with the words to whicl

VERBAL GROUPING. 75

they refer. Include in this stage the sign of the infini-
tive mood (to) and also prepositions used adverbially as
accented additions to verbs; as "/<? put up^*' **/<? £^0
by;' &c.

TRUB GRBATMBSS.

A contemplation — of God's — works, — a voluntary — act — of
justice— to our — own — detriment, — a generous — concern — for
the good — of mankind, — tears — shed — in silence — for the misery
—of others, — a private— desire — of resentment — broken — and —
subdued, — an unfeigned — exercise — of humility, — or — any —
other — virtue, — are — such — actions — as — denominate — men —
great— and — reputable.

35. 3d Stage. Connect personal or relative pronouns
with VERBS ; as ike person — who did it — told me — the
fact.^* Include also, — as //^personal pronouns, — the
words there and so^ when used as in the sentences,
" there may — there is — there will — do so — / say so,**
When a pronoun is the *' antecedent" to a relative, it
will be accented^ (but not necessarily emphatic,) as in
the sentence, " His first field against the infidels proved
fatal to him who, in the English war, had seen seventy
battles." Otherwise the pronoun is always j^^accented,
except in case of antithesis, when the pronoun becomes
emphatic,

THE SECRET OF CONTENT.

In whatever — state — ^I am, — I — first — of all — look up — to
heaven, — and — remember — that — the principal — business— here
— is, — how — to get — there. I — then — look down — upon the
earth, — and — call — ^to mind — how — small — ^a portion— I shall —
occupy — in it — when — I come — to be — interred;— I — then — look
abroad — into the world, — and — observe — the multitudes — who, —
in many — respects, — are — more — unhappy — than — myself. Thus
— I learn — ^where — true — happiness — ^resides,— where — every —
care — must — end ; — and — I — then — see — how — very — little — rea-
son — I have— to complain.

36. 4th Stage. Join adjective and relative pronouns
to NOUNS ; as " that man^ which man^* &c. Include
also the numerals one^ two^ three ^ &c,^ Jirst^ second^
thirds &c., and such words as such^ none, all, 60th j
some, &c. The compound pronominal adjectives, my

76 VERBAL GROUPING.

xyivn^ his own^ &c., may be considered as one word. Do
not group words of this class with verbs; for the noun
must always be understood between the pronominal
ivord, or numeral, and the verb. The pronoun is unac-
cented^ except in case of antithesis, or when it is '' ante-
cedent " to a relative, as in the sentence : —

** I clip high climbing thoughts,

The wings of swelling pride ;
Their fall is worst that from the height

Of greatest honour slide."

EVENTFUL EPOCHS. — Emcrsoii.

Real — action — is — in silent — moments. — The epochs — of our
life — are — not — in the visible — facts — of our choice — of a call-
ing, — our marriage^ — our acquisition — of an office, — and — the
like ; but — in a silent — thought — by the wayside — as — we walk ;
in a thought — which revises — ourentire — manner — of life, — and —
says, — *' Thus — hast thou — done, — but — it were — better — thus."
And — all — our after — ^years, — like — menials, — do — serve — and —
wait — on this, — ^and, — according — to their ability, — do — execute \
— its will.

37. 5th Stage. Accentuate into one group auxiliary
^with PRINCIPAL VERBS wheu no adverbial word or phrase
intervenes.

THE FINE ARTS. — Emerson,

Because — the soul — i s — progressive , — it — never — quite — re-
peats itself, but — in every act — attempts — the production — of a
new — and — fairer — whole. Thus — in our Fine — Arts — not — im-
itation, — but — creation — is — the aim. In landscape, — the painter
— should give — the suggestion — of a fairer — creation — than — we
know. The details, — the prose — of Nature, — he should omit, —
and — give us— only — the spirit — and — splendour. Valuing —
more— the expression— of Nature — than — Nature — herself, — he
will exalt — in his copy — the features — that please him. He will
give — the gloom — of gloom, — and — the sunshine — of sunshine.

38. 6th Stage. Unite adverbs with the adjectives
or ADVERBS which they qualify (not adverbs with verbs) ;
and the negatives no and not^ with whatever they refer to.

VERBAL GROUPING. ^JT

THE FIRMAMENT. — Youtlg.

One sun — by day, — by night— ten thousand — shine;

And — light us — deep — into the Deity ;

How boundless — in magnificence-^and — might !

Oh, — what a confluence— of ethereal — fire,

From urns — unnumbered — down the steep— of heaven,

Streams — to a point, — and— centres — in my sight!

Nor — tarries — there ; — I feel it — at my heart !

My heart — at once — it humbles, — and — exalts ;

Lays it— in dust, — and — calls it — to the skies.

39. 7th Stage. Unite next in the same group or " ora-
torical word," ADJECTIVES and the nouns they qualify.
Two adjectives cannot be connected, as there is between
them a necessary ellipsis of the noun. In this and the
following stages, be especially careful to accentuate the
groups according to the relative value of the words. The
noun will generally take the primary accent,** but some-
times, the adjective ; and, often, both will require an
equal accentuation — emphatic or unemphatic.

REMEMBRANCE. — W. E, Aytoun,

I, — who was — fancy's lord, — am — fancy's slave,
Like— the low murmurs — of the Indian shell,
Ta'en— from its coral bed, — beneath the wave,
Which, — unforgetful — of the ocean's swell,

♦An erroneous rule has been commonly propounded, that the-
chief accent should be always on the qualifying or limiting
word. The primary accent cannot be always on either the one
or the other, but it is more frequently on the qualified than on
the qualifying word. Thus, in Pope's short poem of the ** Mes-
siah," 103 adjective clauses occur; in 39 of tnese the adjectives
and nouns are of equal value (equally emphatic or equally
subordinate) ; in 46 the nouns are of superior value to the ad-
jectives ; and in only 18 the adjectives require to be primarily
accented. In further illustration, the adjective clauses are here
collected from two compositions, with which every reader must
be familiar : —

" The pathless woods ;" *' the lonely shore ;" " the deep sea ;" " thou deep-
and dark blue ocean ;" ** ten thousand fleets ;" " rock-built cities ;" '* oak levi-
athans;" "huge ribs;" *' clay creator :" ** vain title ;'* ** azure brow;" "glo-
rious mirror;" " funeral note ; " farewell shot ;" " stru^ling moonbeams' misty
light;" " useless coffin ;" " martial cloak ;" " few and snort were the prayers ;"
" narrow bed ;" " lonely pillow ;" ** heavy task ;" " distant and random gun ;"
" cold ashes."

In two-thirds of these adjective phrases the nouns require the
primary accent. [See '* Emphasis," in a subsequent section.]

78 VERBAL GROUPING.

Retains, — within its mystic urn, — the hum- —
Heard — in the sea-grots, — where — the Nereids — dwell —
Old thoughts— still— haunt me, — unawares — they come—
Between me — and — my rest, — nor— can I make —
Those aged visitors — of sorrow— dumb.

40. 8th Stage. Copulative particles may next be
united with the connected word that follows them ; but
if they are not immediately followed by the word or
words which they unite in sense, they must stand apart,
and be separately accented and inflected, as in the fol-
lowing sentence :—

*' I shall call^ — and — if posible^ — ascertain — the
fact:'

Z>/ijunctives, such as but^ nor^ &c., frequently require
separate pronunciation.

STABILITY OF NATURE. — RogerS,

Who — first — beholds — those everlasting clouds,

Seed time— and harvest, — morning,— noon,— and night,

Still —where— they were,— steadfast, — immovable ;

Who -first— beholds— the Alps,— that mighty chain^

Of mountains,— stretching on — ^from east— to west;

So massive, — ^yet— so shadowy,— so ethereal,

As to belong — rather — to heaven — than earth, —

j5«/— instantly — receives — into his soul —

A sense,— a feeling — that he loses not;

A something— that informs him — 'tis — a moment—

Whence— he may date — henceforward — and forever.

41 . 9th Stage. The predicate that follows the verb
t ) BE, whether it consist of a single word or of a clause,
— may be united with the verb in one accentual g^oup : as,
^'^ To be thus — is nothing — but — to be safely thus!**

HUMAN PROGRESS. — Christian Philosophy,

Man, — even — in his inglorious — ^and fallen state, — ^is eminently
fitted — ^for progression — in knowledge. There is the eye — to per^
ceive, — the soul — to understand, — the ear — to attend, — and the
judgement — to ponder; — there are the senses — to supply — mate-
rial—and the memory— to store up— the treasures. By deep cau-
sation — man — reasons — on first principles — and chief laws, — and
— by analogy— compares — and contrasts. From the lower steps —
of the intellectual ladder,— he — gradually— ascends— to the high-

VERBAL GROUPING. 79

est regions — of abstract thought — and reflection. The alphabet —
may be the child's first study, — the heaven — of heavens — the
theme — of his manly contemplations. — As a child — he may whip
—his top — in the street, — or roll — his hoop— on the path ; — as a
man, — he measureth— the heavens, — and reckoneth— with mathe-
matical precision — the revolutions — of the planetary worlds.
From the hyssop — he goeth on— to the cedar, — from the wonders
— of nature — to those — of providence, — and— from both, — by a
spiritual flight, — to the higher regions — of grace. With elasticitv
— of mind, — in connection— with physical vigour,— and the cul-
tivation — of the moral sense, — none — but Gwi— can tell — where
—man's soarings — ^will end, — or his discoveries — terminate.

42. loth Stage. Adverbs and adverbial phrases
may next be united with the verbs they qualify ; also
interrogative and C(?«flf//iV?«tf/ particles, — such as when^
tvhy^ if^ &c. : as in the sentences, " When I jirst came
here^ — // was far otherwise — than it is now; " ^'^ If it
must be done — why^ then — there is no remedy, ^^

SUNSET. — Alex. Bethune.

The sun — hath almost reach'd — his journey's close ;
The ray — he sheds — is gentle, — softly brignt.
Pure — as the pensive light — from woman's eyes —
When kindled up— by retrospective thoughts.
Wandering — to former scenes — of love — and joy.
But yet — there is a melancholy tinge —
In that rich radiance, —and —a passing thought —
Of things departed, — and of days gone by.
At such an hour— insensibly will weave
Itself— into the texture— of the scene.
Nothing — departs alone : the dying day-
Bears — with It— many — to the fast repose.
The setting sun,- so gorgeously array'd —
In beams — of light, — and curtam'd round about —
With clouds — steeped — in the rainbow's richest dyes ;
So fair, — so full— of light— and living gloiy,
That— with the ancient Persian, — one might deem
Him — god— of all— he looks upon below, —
His setting — ushers in — a night — to some —
Which — morning— shall not break.

43. nth Stage. The word or clause forming the
object of a transitive verb or the complemental ex-
pression of a verb^ may next be added to the verb in

8o VERBAL GROUPING.

the same oratorical group : as " /<? love virtue;*^ " to be-
come near-sighted; " " learn — to do good; " " my own
tears — have made me blind ^^ &c. When the *' object"
is the grammatical antecedent to a relative clause, or when
it stands in the relation of principal to any dependent
sentence immediately following, it should not be grouped
with the verb, but with the relative or subordinate to
which it stands in closer relationship. When there are
two or more " objects" to one verb, the latter should be
pronounced by itself, that the equal relation of all the ob-
jects to the verb may be manifest. In such cases the
objects will generally take the collective form of a series.*

REVELATION.

Should these credulous infidels, — after all, — be in the right, —
and — this pretended revelation — be all a fable, — from believing
it — ^what harm — could ensue ? Would it render princes more ty-
rannical, — or subjects more ungovernable? the rich more inso-
lent, — or the poor more disorderly? Would it make worse
parents,— -or children, — husbands- -or wives, — masters — or ser-
vants ;-^friends — or neighbors ? or — would it not make men more
virtuous, — and consequently more happy — in every situation ?

44. 1 2th Stage. Complemental clauses, intro-
duced by prepositions, pronouns, or other parts of si>eech,
may be united with the principal words to which they
relate, when they are necessary to the expression of sense ;

as,

f
" Child of the sun — pursue thy rapturous flight —
Mingling — with her thou lov^ st'-^in fields of light, ''^

^^It was not so much what you said — as your manner of saying
it — that struck me"

EXERCISE.

It is a universal law of nature — that disuse — diminishes the ca-
pability of things, — ^while exercise — increases it. The seldomer
our thoughts are communicated— the less communicable do they
become; — the seldomer our sympathies are awakened — the less
ready are they to wake ; — and — if social affections be not stirred
by social intercourse, — like a neglected fire, — they smoulder
away, — and consign our hearts to coldness.

* See page 102.

PAUSING. 8l

IX. PUNCTUATION AND PAUSING.

45. Good clausing is one of the most important quali-
ties in reading. Clausing does not always coincide with
punctuation. Commas are inserted in many cases where
a pause would be inappropriate ; and they are not found
at the boundaries of many clauses where pauses are es-
sential to a clear delivery of the meaning.

46. The comma is used to separate words or clauses in
apposition, and to disjoin explanatory or qualifying clauses
from the principal members of a sentence, and from each
other : the semicolon is employed at the conclusion of a
dependent sentence ; or of one from which a direct infer-
ence is drawn ; or of one of a series of connected sentences ;
or sometimes at the end of an important division of a
complex sentence : the colon serves to aggregate into one
period sentences in themselves complete, but more or less
connected in subject ; or it is used after any recurrence of
semicolons, to mark a greater division than they indicate :
and the period shows the completion of an independent
sentence, or of a series of collateral sentences. A para*
graph is a typographical division, which shows the end
of a collection of collateral periods.

47. The shortest pauses are those slight suspensions
which are made at the end of an accentual g^oup or ora-
torical word ; the next in duration are those which sepa-
rate subordinate clauses from the principal members,
and from each other ; next are those which separate two
or more subjects, predicates, objects, or complemental
clauses in apposition ; somewhat longer are those which
introduce and conclude parentheses, similes, series, and
important relative or conditional sentences; the conclusion
of a dependent sentence requires a slightly increased hi-
atus ; of an independent sentence a greater one still ; and
the end of a paragraph, or leading division of a subject,
a more protracted pause. Besides these regular stops,
accidental, expectant, or reflective pauses will occur be-
fore or after important words, to render them emphatic ;
and longest of all will be those Expressive Pauses^
which denote listening, anxious watching, &c.

48 . There can be no good reading without frequent and,
6

82 PAUSING.

sometimes, long pauses. They convey an effect of spon-
taneity, which rivets the attention of the hearer ; while .
unbroken fluency, especially in the reading of complex
sentences, will never sustain attention, because it is man-
ifestly accompanied with no thought on the part of the
reader. Appropriate clausular pausing will lead the rea-
der to THINK, and it will make him seem to do so even
when he does not. For he must always —

\ "Assume this virtue, if he have it not."
49. The following example illustrates the difference
between oratorical pausing and ordinary punctuation.
As these stanzas are usually printed, commas are inserted
after " night," " storm" and " darkness ;" and no mark
of punctuation is used after "sky," "eye," "along,"
" Jura," " this," " me," " sharer," " tempest," " rain,"
" again," " now," " hills" and " rejoice."

THUNDER-STORM AMONG THE ALPS.* — Byrott.

The sky — is changed I — and such a change — O — night
And storm and darkness — ^ye are wondrous strong —
Yet lovely in your strength — as is the light
Of a dark eye — in woman !— Far along —
From peak to peak the rattling crags among — .
Leaps the live thunder ! — not from one lone cloud —
But every mountain — now hath found a tongue —
And Jura — answers through her misty shroud —
Back to the joyous Alps — who call to her aloud.

And this— is in the night!— Most glorious night! —

Thou wert not sent for slumber! — let me — be

A sharer — in thy fierce and far delight —

A portion — of the tempest and of thee !

How the lit lake shines — a phosphoric sea —

And the big rain — comes dancing to the earth —

And now again— *tis black— and now— the glee

Of the loud hills— shakes with its mountain mirth —

As if they did rejoice — o'er a young earthquake's birth.

X. EMPHATICAL DISJUNCTIONS OF WORDS.

50. Words which in ordinary utterance are collocated
into one group, will be separated in emphatic pronun-

* A key to the emphatic words in these stanzas is given in a
subsequent section.

PAUSING. 83

ciation. The hearer's attention is excited, and curiosity
awakened, for the word which the speaker stops to in-
troduce ; especially when the syntactical construction is
such as to admit of no break in ordinary delivery. Thus,
between the pronoun and the verb ; the auxiliary and the
principal verb ; the verb and its object or complement;
the article ^preposition^ or adjective ^ and the noun^ &c. ;
as in the following passages : —

** O, sir, your— honesty — is — remarkable."
*' Let me tell you, Cassiu8,*you yourself

Are much condemned to have — an — itching palm!"
** Shall I bend low, and, in a bondsman's key.

With bated breath and— whispering humbleness,

Say this —

* Fair sir I you — spit on me on Wednesday last ;

You — spurned me, such a day; another time

You called me — dog; and for these — courtesies^

1*11 — lend you thus much monies.' "

* If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his — humility ? — Revenge.
I Christian wrong a Tew, what shoul<* ' ' "^

Christian— example ?— Why, revenge ! '

If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his — sufferance be, by —
— ■ • 2?— Wh

** Hear him, my lord; he's — wondrous condescending;
Mark the — humility — of— shepherd Norval."

XI. STACCATO PRONUNCIATION.

5 1 . In strong emotion, each accent, or even every syU
lable^ may be separately inflected. This staccato pro-
nunciation, is especially used in exclamatory surprise
or INTERROGATION ; as in the following illustrations : —

** I an itching palm?"

** Gone to be married? Gone to swear a peace?"

•* Dost thou stand by the tombs of the glorious dead?"

** And fear not to say that their son hath fled?"
/ / / / /

" Away ! he is lying by lance and shield ! "
<* Point me the path to his battle-field I "

84 CLAUSING EXERCISES.

53. The Mechanism, and Expressiveness of the vocal
movements or inflexions, and their application to verbal
and clausular accents, have now been explained and illus-
trated. Let the student perfectly master these principles,
and, by exercise, acquire the power to pronounce spon-
taneously any accentual combination of syllables, in each
of the Modes, both of Simple and Compound inflexion,
before proceeding further. He who is ambitious of ex-
cellence in Elocution must thus patiently cultivate his
voice to execute, and his ear to appreciate, separately^
the fundamental requisites of correct delivery, before he
attempts to apply them in Expressive Reading.

53. The practice of clausular reading, with proper ac-
centuation and with varied well-defined inflexions accom-
panying every utterance, will be found speedily and per-
fectly effectual in imparting flexibility to the voice,
and in removing habits of monotony, or other inexpres-
sive mannerism in Reading. The following selection of
short passages in Prose and Poetry furnishes material
for exercise. These passages should be read in accord-
ance with each of the separate stages of grouping illus-
trated in this section.

Xn. PASSAGES FOR EXERCISE IN THE GRAMMAT-
ICAL GROUPING OF WORDS.

AN ANCIENT TSMPLB. — Blair,

See yonder hallowed fane ! the pious work

Of names once famed, now dubious or forgot,

And buried midst the wreck of things that were :

There lie interred the more illustrious dead.

The wind is up : hark ! how it howls \ Methinks,

Till now, I never heard <i sound so dreary.

Doors creak, and windows c!ap, and night's foul bird,

Rook'd in the spire, screams loud ; the gloomy aisles.

Black plastered, and hung round with shreds of scutcheonSf

And tattered coats of arms, send back the sound.

Laden with heavier airs, from the low vaults,

The mansions of the dead.

ANIMAL ENJOYMENT. --C<nt//cr.

The heart is hard in nature, and unfit
For human fellowship, as being void

CLAUSING EXBRCISBS. 85

Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike

To love and friendship both ; that is not pleased

With sight of animals enjoying life,

Nor feels their happiness augment his own.

I have remarked that the declamations of angry men make
little impression on those who are not themselves angry.. Rea-
sonable men love reason.

CHEERFULNESS.

A cheerful temper, joined with innocence, will make beautv
attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured; it will
lighten sickness, poverty, and affliction ; convert ignorance into
an amiable simplicity, and render deformity itself ag^reeable.

CONSTANCY IN VIRTUE.

The bird let loose in Eastern skies.

When hastening fondly home,
Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, or flies

Where idle wanderers roam ;
But high she shoots, through air and light,

Above all low delay.
Where nothing earthly bounds her flight,

Or shadow dims her way.
So g^nt me, God, from every stain

Of sinful passion free,
Aloft through virtue's purer air,

To steer my course to Thee !
No sin to cloud, no lure to stay

My soul, as home she sprin^^s ;
Thy sunshine on her joyful way,

Thy freedom on her wings.

CONTENTMENT.

When you are rich, praise God for His abundant bounty ; when
poor, thank Him for keeping you from the temptations of pros-
perity ; when you are at. ease, glorify Him for His merciful kind-
ness ; and when beset with affliction and pain, offer thanksgiving
for His merciful remindings that you are approaching your end.

CRITICS. — Mmerson,

The eye of a critic is often, like a microscope, made so very
fine and nice that it discovers the atoms and mmutest particles,
but cannot comprehend the whole, so as to compare the parts,
and perceive at once the general harmony.

86 CLAUSING EXERCISES.

DESIRE OF DISTINCTION.

The desire of distinction in the world is a commendable quality
when it excites men to the perf jrmance of illustrious actions ;
but this ambitioti is so seldom directed to its proper end, and is
so little scrupulous in the choice of the means which it employs
for the accomplishment of its purpose, that it frequently ruins
the morals of those who are actuated by it ; and thus, for the
pleasure of being lifted up for a moment above the common level
of mankind, many a man has forfeited his character with the wise
and good, and inflicted wounds on his conscience, which the balm
of flattering dependants can never heal.

DESIRES UNLIMITED.

The desires of man increase with his acquisitions ; every step
that he advances brings something within his view that he did
not see before, and which, as soon as he sees it, he begins to
want. Where necessity ends, curiosity begins ; and no sooner
are we supplied with every thing that nature can demand, than
we sit down to contrive artificial appetites.

EMPLOYMENT. — BatlUe.

The bliss, e'en of a moment, still is bliss,

What! would'st thou, of her dew-drops spill the thorn,

Because her glory cannot last till noon ?

Or still the lightsome gambols of the colt,

Whose neck to-morrow's yoke will gall ? Fie on*t I

If this be wise, 'tis cruel.

FORGIVENESS. — Lady E, Carew.

The fairest action of our human life

Is scorning to revenge an injury;
For who forgives, without a further strife,

His adversary's heart to him doth tie.

fortune's frolics. — Chapman,

Fortune, the great Commandress of the world.

Hath diverse ways to enrich her followers ;

To some, she honours gives without deserving,

To other some, deserving without honour ;

Some wit, some wealth, and some wit without wealth.

Some wealth without wit ; some nor wit, nor wealth,

But taking faces and appearances.

To make a show without possessing substance.

HASTY ANGER. — C yoknson.

Those hearts that start at once into a blaze,
And open all their rage, like summer storms
At once discharg'd, grow cool again as fast,
And calm.

CLAUSING BXERCISBS. 87

HUMAN LIFE. — Emersoti.

The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring im-
perceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger
circles, and that without end.

HUMILITY. — Gill,

Generally speaking, those who have the most grace, and the
greatest gifls, and are of the greatest usefulness, are the most
humble, and think the most meanly of themselves. So those
boughs and branches of trees which are most richly laden with
fruit, bend downward, and hang lowest.

INDUSTRY. — Emerson.

Though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourish-
ing corn can come to a man, but through his toil bestowed on
that plot of ground which is given him to till.

INNOCENCE.

Whence learned she this ? O she was innocent I

And to be innocent is Nature's wisdom !

The fledge-dove knows the prowlers of the air,

Feared soon as seen, and flutters back to shelter.

And the young steed recoils upon his haunches.

The never-yet-seen adder's hiss first heard.

O surer than suspicion's hundred eyes

Is that fine sense which, to the pure in heart,

By mere oppugnancy of their own goodness

Reveals the approach of evil.

LIBERALITY. — Christian Philosophy,

What should be the model of the Christian's liberality ? Even
the rich perpetual beneficence of God. Observe the many em-
blems of this spirit which Nature furnishes. How freely does
the ocean yield its waters to the empty clouds ; and they, again,
how richly do they pour their fertilizing drops, to cheer and bless
the thirsty earth I The sun, the centre, and the glory of the solar
system, the material spirit of its light and joy, how plenteously
his golden beams are scattered through our world ! The earth,
though cursed by man's transgression, jet yieldcth to the sower
oftentimes a hundred-fold. The air, the element of life, pervadeth
every place, that men may breathe it. The orchard, with its
laden boughs of cooling fruits, presents, with yearly constancy,
its gifts to men. The avaricious wretch, and sordid selfling, may
blush, indeed, to contemplate these emblems of beneficence.

'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower
Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume ;

88 CLAUSING EXERCISES.

And we are weeds without it. All constraint,

Except what wisdom lays on evil men,

Is evil ; hurts the faculties, impedes

Their progress in the road to science ; blinds

The eyesight of discovery ; and begets,

In those that suffer it, a sordid mind,

Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit

To be the tenant of man's noble form.

LIGHT. — Christian Philosophy.

"• Let there be light, " is the mandate of Heaven, and all holy
intelligences favour its diffusion. Let the light of science, of
philosophy, and of letters, exalt to intellectuality every nation of
the earth. Let the light of truth disperse the errors of supersti-
tion and ignorance from our world. Let the light of revelation
illumine with saving rays every nation, and kindred, and people,
and tongue. Let the light of celestial favour form the day of
hope and rejoicing in every heart of man. Let light be diffused
from the printing-press, from the village-school, from the college,
from the institutions of science, and from the sanctuary of relig-
ion. Let the monarch and the subject, the legislator and the
governed, the rich and the poor, all unite for its diffusion.

LIVING MERIT. — Charles Machay,

Who can tell what schemes majestic
Perish in the active brain —
What humanity is robbed of.
Ne'er to be restored again —
What we lose, because we honour
Overmuch the mighty dead ? .

And dispirit

Living merit,
Heaping scorn upon its head ?
Or, perchance, when kinder grown.
Leaving it to die alone ?

Look how the golden ocean shines above
Its pebbly stones, and magnifies their girth ;
So does the bright and blessed light of love
Its own things glorify, and raise their worth.

MIGHT OF MERCY. — Rowe,

The narrow soul
Knows not the God-like glory of forgiving.
Nor can the cold, the ruthless heart conceive
How large the power, how fixed the empire is
Which benefits confer on generous minds.
Goodness prevails on the most stubborn foes.
And conquers more than ever sword subdued.

CLAUSING BXSRCISES. 89

MISFORTUNES.

The external misfortunes of life, disappointments, poverty,
and sickness, are light in comparison with those inward dis-
tresses of mind, occasioned by folly, by passion, and by guilt.

MOODINESS. —^Skakesfea re.

O, we are querulous creatures ! Little less
Than nothing can suffice to make us happy ;
And little less than nothing is enough
To make us wretched.

MUTUAL DEPENDENCE. — Emerson,

There is nothing in the universe that stands alone, — nothing
solitary. No atom of matter, no drop of water, no vesicle of air,
or ray of light, exists in a state of isolation. Everything belongs
to some system of society, of which it is a component and neces-
sary part. Just so it is in the moral world. — ^No man stands
alone, nor high angel, nor child. All the beings ^'lessening down
from infinite perfection to the brink of dreary nothing," belong
to a system of mutual dependencies. All and each constitute and
enjoy a part of the world's sum of happiness. No one liveth to
himself. The most obscure individual exerts an influence which
must be felt in the great brotherhood of mankind. As the little
silvery circular ripple, set in motion by the falling pebble, expands
from its inch of radius to the whole compass of the pool, so there
is not an infant placed, however softly, in his bulrush-ark upon
the sea of time, whose existeuce does not stir a ripple gyrating
outward and on, until it shall have moved across and spanned
the whole ocean of God's eternity. "To be, or not to be ?" is that
the question ? No. — We are ; and whether we live or die, we are
the Lord's ; we belong to His eternity, and henceforth His moral
universe will be filled with our existence.

NIGHT. — Blair.

Night, sable goddess ! from her ebon throne,
In rayless majesty, now stretches forth
Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world.
Silence how dead ! and darkness how profound I
Nor eye nor listening ear an object finds.
. Creation sleeps. 'Tis as the general pulse
Of life stood still, and Np*^ure made a pause, —
An awful pause, prophetic of her end.

OCCUPATION.

Occupation cures at least half of life's troubles, and mitigates
the remainder. A manacled slave, working at the galleys, is
happier than the self-manacled slave of idleness.

90 CLAUSING EXERCISES.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION.

Philosophy may destroy the burden of the body, but religion
gives wings to the soul. Philosophy may enable us to look down
on the earth with contempt, but religion teaches us to look up to
heaven with hope. Philosophy may support to the brink of the
grave, but religion conducts beyond it. Philosophy unfolds a
rich store of enjoyment, which religion makes eternal.

POTENCY OF COURAGE. — Rowe,

The wise and active conquer difficulties
By daring to attempt them ; sloth and folly
Shiver and shrink at sight of toil and hazard,
And make the impossibility they fear.

PRAYER AND SUBMISSION. — Mtltoti.

If I could hope by prayer to change the will
Of Him who all things can, I would not cease
To weary Him with my assiduous cries ;
But prayer against His absolute decree
No more avails than breath against the wind.
Therefore, to His great bidding I submit.

PROGRESS IN GVlLT,—Lillo,

There's nought so monstrous but the mind of man

In some conditions may be brought to approve ;

Theft, sacrilege, treason and parricide,

When flattering opportunity enticed

And desperation drove, have been committed

By those who once would start to hear them named.

SADNESS OF NIGHT. — ToUHg,

How, like a widow in her weeds, the night.
Amid her glimmering tapers, silent sits !
How sorrowful, how desolate, she weeps
Perpetual dews, and saddens Nature's scene I

SELF-kNOWLEDGE. — Enter SOU,

Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness,
yet, perhaps, as few know their own strength. It is in men as in
soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold, which the owner
knows not of.

SOURCES OF CALAMITY. — Byron.

There is an order
Of mortals on the earth who do become
Old in their youth, and die ere middle age;

CLAUSING EXERCISES. 9 1

Some perishing of pleasure, some of study,
Some worn with toil, some of mere weannesSi
Some of disease, and some insanity,
And some of withered or of broken hearts :
For this last is a malady which takes
Variety of shapes and names, and slays
More than are numbered in the lists of Fate.

souRCSS OF ERROR. — Harris,

Partial views, the imperfections of sense, inattention, idleness,
the turbulence of passions, education, local sentiments, opinions,
and belief, conspire, in many instances, to furnish us with ideas,
some too general, some too partial, and, what is worse than all
this, with many that are erroneous, and contrary to truth. These
it behoves us to correct, as far as possible, by cool suspense and
candid examination.

SUCCESS. — Thomson,

It is success that colours all in life ;
Success makes fools admired, makes villains honest :
All the proud virtue of this vaunting world
Fawns on success and power, howe'er acquired.

THE COMMON LOT. — Cow^er.

All flesh is grass, and all its glory fades.
Like the fair flower dishevelled in the wind ;
Riches have wings, and Grandeur is a dream ;
The man we celebrate must find a tomb.
And we that worship him, ignoble graves.

THE GOSPEL.

There is not an evil incident to human nature, for which the
gospel doth not provide a remedy. Are you ignorant of many
things which it highly concerns you to know? — ^The gospel
offers you instruction. Have you deviated from the path of
duty .^ — The gospel offers you forgiveness. Do temptations sur-
round you ? The gospel offers you the aid of Heaven. Are you
exposed to misery ? — It consoles you. Are you subject to death ?
— It offers you immortality.

THE GRAVE. — Blair.

When self-esteem, or others* adulation,
Would cunningly persuade us we were something
Above the common level of our kind,
The grave gainsays the smooth-complexion'd flattery,
And with blunt truth acquaints us what we are.

92 CLAUSING EXERCISES.

THOUGHTS. — Christian Philosophy.

Thoughts are the moving ideas of the mind ; the actions of the
fancy and imagination. Thoughts are the seeds of words, and
the germ of actions. If the mind is in a state of incessant exer-
cise, then how numberless must be the thoughts arising there-
from I Many thoughts are vain and foolish, and therefore of
necessity useless. Many thoughts are ungodly and wicked, and
therefore injurious to the soul, and hateful to God. A watch
over such thoughts is necessary to prevent their intrusion, and
holy ejaculations are essential to their expulsion.

TRUTH. — Christian Philosophy,

Truth is to. fact what the impress is to the seal, the exact tran-
script. Adherence to truth, the seven-times-heated furnace could
not consume, nor the hungry lions destroy. Buy truth at any
price : its cost cannot exceed its worth, or surpass its intrinsic
value. Whoever possesses truth, holds an inestimable treasure,
whose currency is admitted in both worlds.

TYRANNY. —Brooke.

Not claim hereditary nor the high
Anointing hand of Heaven can give a law
For lawless power, or to injustice bind
Allegiance. Tyranny absolves all faith ;
And who invades our rights can never be
But a usurper.

TYRANNY OP VICE. — Byron,

Think'st thou there is no tyranny but that
Of blood and chains? The despotism of vice,
The weakness and the wickedness of luxury.
The negligence of £ensual sloth, produces
Ten thousand tyrants who, in cruelty,
Surpass the worst of domineering masters.
However harsh, and hard, and pitiless.

UNCERTAINTY OP TO-MORROW.

In human hearts what bolder thought can rise
Than man's presumption on to-morrow's dawn ?
Where is to-morrow } In another world.
For numbers this is certain ; the reverse
Is sure to none.

VARIETY OP ENDOWMENTS. — Wilberforce.

We have different forms assigned to us in the school of life,
different gifts imparted. All is not attractive that is good. Iron
is useful, though it does not sparkle like the diamond. Gold has
not the fragrance of a flower. So, different persons have differ-
ent modes of excellence, and we must have an eye to all.

CLAUSING EXERCISES. 93

VIRTUE. — Toung.

Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind matures,
That life is long which answers life's great end.
The time that bears no fruit deserves no name ;
The man of wisdom is the man of years.

VIRTUOUS PROMPTITUDE. — Rowe,

A virtuous deed should never be delayed,

The impulse comes from Heav'n and he who strives

A moment to repress it, disobeys

The god within his mind.

VOICES OF NIGHT. — Baillie,

How those fallen leaves do rustle on the path,

With whispering noise, as though the earth around me

Did utter secret things 1

The distant river, too, bears to mine ear

A dismal wailing. O, mysterious night I

Not silent art thou ; many tongues thou hast.

WAR. — Christian Philosofhy.

War has dinned the world, and crimsoned the earth, and cursed
our' species for ages upon ages. What has it effected, and
what are the results which follow in its train ? Agricultural ste-
rility, commercial depression, national enthralment, social woe,
physical suffering, the unalleviated agonizing pangs of myriads,
the battle-field strewed with the wounded, the dying, and the
dead : desolated countries, sacked cities, burning dwellings, de-
spairing widows and orphans. The sound of trumpets, the clash
of arms, and the roaring of the cannon, may excite for a season,
but reflection must follow, both to surviving conquerors and to
the conquered. And what a reflection I That they have choked
the avenues of death with myriads of dark and guilty spirits,
crowding in fearful horror into the region of Hades. But a time
is coming, when war shall be hated, reprobated, abhorred, and only
remembered as a woe and a blight that has passed away for ever.

WELL-DOING. — Toung,

Who does the best his circumstance allows
Does well, acts nobly, angels could no more.

WISDOM. — Christian Philosophy,

Wisdom is that faculty which applieth knowledge to its best use
and fitteth means for the best end. It looketh to the future, and
dreameth not of building on the uncertain present. Wisdom
hath its decided preferences, and its fixed antipathies. It avoid-
eth precipitancy in matters of moment, and doeth nothing

94 SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

rashly. It doth not encourage the whisperer, nor hearken to the
tale-bearer, nor attend to idle rumours. It cherisheth openness
of demeanour, candour of spirit, and integrity of speech. It deci-
deth not without ample evidence, and it judgeth not without a
cause. It sheddeth lustre on every station, age, and condition.
It is the brightness of the child's eye, the nobleness of the youth's
countenance, and the dignity of the man of years.

WOMAN. — Charles Mackay.

A very woman : — full of tears,
Hopes, blushes, tendernesses, fears,
Griefs, laughter, kindness, joys, and sighs,
Loves, likings, friendships, sympathies ;
A heart to feel for every woe,
And pity, if not dole, bestow ;
A hand to give from scanty store ;
A look to wish the offering more.

XIII. APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF INFLEX-
ION TO SENTENCES.

54. As all inflexions may be resolved into two kinds —
rising and falling— so, all rules for their application may
be resolved into two corresponding, general funda-
mental PRINCIPLES.

55. (I.) The rising' progression connects what has
been said with what is to be uttered, or with what the
speaker wishes to be implied or supplied by the hearer ;
and this, with more or less closeness and passion, in pro-
portion to the force and extent of the rise. The rising
inflexion is thus associated with what is incomplete in
sense ; or, if apparently complete, dependent on or mod-
ified by what immediately follows ; with whatever is
relative to something expressed, or implied ; and with
what \^ doubtful^ interrogative^ or supplicatory,

56. (II.) Theybj///^^ progression DISCONNECTS what
has been said from what is to follow ; and this with more
or less exclusiveness, and passion, in proportion to the
force and extent of the fall. The falling inflexion is,
thus, associated with what is complete and independent
in sense, or intended to be received as such ; and with
whatever is positive^ dogmatical^ or mandatory,

57. All sentences belong, constructively, to one or

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 95

other of the three classes — ^assertive, interrogative,
and IMPERATIVE ; — as

(i.) I am coming. (2.) Are you coming? (3.) Come!

The following Principles deduced from conversational
usage regulate the closing inflexion of each kind of sen-
tence.

I. Assertive Sentences,

58. Assertive sentences have normally a falling ter-
mination, as predicating facts of which the hearer may be
presumed to have been previously uninformed ; but when
they cannot be supposed to communicate information
they take a rising termination, as in appeal to the hearer's
consciousness. Thus,

The sun rises in the east; (implying ** does it not?")
The end of life is death; (implying ** is it not?")

II. Interrogative Sentences,*

59. Interrogative sentences have normally a rising
termination ; as relating to facts respecting which the
speaker may be presumed to be in doubt or ignorance ;
but when they cannot be supposed to ask for information
they take a falling termination, as in assertion of what
the hearer's consciousness must corroborate. Thus,

Is virtue to be commended? (implying "you know it is.")

Does rain fall from the clouds ? (implying " you know it does.")

III. Imperative Sentences,

60. Imperative sentences have a falling termination
when they express the speaker* s will without reference
to the will of the hearer, and they have a rising termi-
nation when they solicit rather than enjoin compliance.
Thus,

Remember what X have said; (implying '* it is my will.")
Remember what I have said ; (implying ** will you ?")

♦See ** Varieties of Interrogative Sentences," p. 98.

96 SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

XIV. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

61. Every assertive sentence must consist of at least
two parts: — (I.) the thing, person, quality, or fact
spoken of—\hQ subject ; — and (II.) that which is as-
serted of the subject — the predicate. Thus,

John — is speaking. The event — is doubtful.

63. The subject usually precedes the predicate, but
this order may be reversed. When both subject and
predicate are accented, iki^ former of them, in either
order, terminates with a risings and the latter^ with a
falling inflexion.

63. When the subject ha.^ been previously expressed
or implied, or when it is a pronoun, it is pronounced
without an accentual inflexion, and if it precedes the
predicate, takes merely the preparatory pitch of an unac-
cented syllable. Thus,

John is silent. He has finished.

64. When the predicate has been previously expressed
or implied, the same principle applies, and the subject
alone receives accentual inflexion.

65. When the subject or predicate is antithetic to
any other, either expressed or implied, comp>ound in-
stead of simple tones will be employed.

6^, The predicate may consist of a verb only^ or it
may include also an object or complement. The position
of the accent will vary according to the sense, but the
principle of concluding inflexion is the same whether the
predicate be simple or compound.

67. An assertive sentence may contain, besides the
subject and predicate, a third part — the circumstance ;
which may be either of the adjective class, as qualifying
the subject, or of the adverbial class, as qualifying the
predicate.

^%, The circumstance may consist of a single word,
of a clausular group of words, or of a subordinate sen^
tence^ adverbial, relative, conditional, or participial.

69. The subordinate clause or sentence may oe cont^

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 97

plemental of the subject or predicate, — ^when its accen-
tuation and inflexion must snow it to be a part of the
principal member ; — or it may be merely explanatory —
when it must be pronounced with independent tones and
accents. Thus in the following lines :

" Behold the emblem of thy state
In flowers, which bloom and die."

The principal sentence here terminates with the comple-
mentary clause " in flowers ;"

** Behold the emblem of thy state in flowers I"

and the succeeding relative sentence is an independent
explanatory addition. Thus : —

** Behold the emblem of thy state

In flowers, |_ which bloom and die.'*

70. The subjects and predicates must always be so
pronounced as to strike upon the hearer's mind with un-
encumbered distinctness among the most multitudinous
assemblage of syntactically subordinate clauses or sen-
tences. The subject and predicate are generally the most
emphatic parts of a sentence ; they are so always, indeed,
except when either of them has been previously expressed
or implied ; or when some opposition or contrast of cir-
cumstantial clauses or sentences requires their compara-
tive elevation.

71. Subordinate clauses or sentences may ^r^c^f/^ the
subject ^follow ihe predicate^ or intervene between them.
In th^jfrst and last cases they will generally terminate
with rising'^ siXid in the Jtfc<?«<?, with ya///«^ inflexions —
subject to the same modifications and varieties, from an-
tithesis, previous implication, &c., as the subjects and
predicates themselves.

72. The predicate may be either an absolute or a con-
ditional diss^extioni in the former case it will take the

falling' inflexion, but in the latter^ it will require a com-
pound rising tone to modify its assertiveness and connect
it with the conditional member or sentence that follows.

98 SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

Conditional Circum- 1 If to do were as easy as to know what
stance ... j were g-ood to do

Subject chapels

Predicate had been churches

Connective ..... and

Subject poor men's cottages

Predicate (had been) princes* palaces.

Imperative sentence . Look

Circumstance of manner, how

Subject the golden ocean

Predicate shines

Circumstance of place . above its pebbly stones

Connective and

Predicate magnifies

Object their girth 1

Circumstance of manner, So

Auxiliary to predicate, does

Subject the bright and blessed light of love

Object its own things

Predicate glorify

Connective and

Predicate raise

Object their worth.

XV. VARIETIES OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES.

73. When we pronounce any sentence in doubt or ig'-
norancBy and with the desire of assurance or information,
we naturally terminate the utterance with a rising inflex-
ion^ more or less strong, in proportion to the degree of
our eagerness to be assured or informed. By the tone
of voice we appeal to the hearer for a satisfactory re-
sponse ; and this, without reference to the syntactical form
of construction we employ. The declarative, or even the
imperative form of composition, may be pronounced with
an equally interrogative effect to that which is more com-
monly associated with the interrogative construction. In
reading, we must not be guided by the mere arrangement
of the words ; for we often meet with the form of inter-
rogation when the sentence is not interrogative in mean-
ing, but, on the contrary, distinctly assertive ; as when
Cassius says to Brutus —

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 99

" I said an elder soldier — not a better —

Did I say better?''

And we frequently find the declarative construction em-
ployed when the intention is not assertive, but manifestly
interrogative : as when Cassius further says —

'* You do not love me^ Brutus^

74. Directly interrogative sentences usually have the
verb preceding the su^'ect; as, ^^ will you go?** ^^ when
will you go?** " went you not with them?** ^^why went
you not with them?** " does any one accompany you?**

" who accompanies you?** These questions are of two
kinds — ^VERBAL, and adverbial, or pronominal. In
the verbal class, " will you? went you?** &c., the query
has reference to the fact in the sentence ; and the con-
cluding tone is generally rising, as expressive of doubt or
solicitation. In the adverbial or pronominal class, the
fact is not called in question, but the query has reference
to some circumstance attending it — "when? why?
how? who?" &c., and the concluding tone is generally
falling, as expressive of the assumed certainty as to the
fact.

75. Adverbial and pronominal questions are in fact
^aa^ertive or imperative in their nature. Thus, " When
will you go? who will accompany you? ^* imply " Un-
derstanding that you are goings lask^ (or " tell me")
when? Expecting that some person will accompany
you^ I ask^ who?** But if we are very solicitous to
gain the information, or are in any doubt as to the fact
itself, we terminate the question with a rising tone, and
it then strongly appeals for a response, or becomes both

a verbal and a^x/^r^/a/ question. Thus, "When will
you go," implies, "Do tell me," or ^''Are you really go-
ing, and, if so, when?**

76. The rising or falling inflexion may frequently be
used indifferently on a question of this kind which is not
marked by emotional emphasis.

ipO SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

Example.
** How do you do?" ^ ( '* How do you do ?"

• * What is it o'clock ?" J / " What is it o'clock ?"

The rising inflection is, however, more deferential than
the falling, and is that which would generally be used in
addressing a superior, while the falling tone is that which
the superior would probably himself employ.

77. It is to be observed also, that when a question of
this kind, uttered with a falling inflexion, has not been
distinctly apprehended, or, from any cause, is echoed by
the person to whom it was addressed, it receives, in this
repetition, the rising inflexion.

Example, — " Whence arise these forebodings, but from the con-
sciousness of guilt?"

" fFl^ewcfi arise these forebodings ?*' ) /. ., . .«t-wj

/ y (imp fytti j§^y '* Did you

"From the consciousness of ^«7//" i say?")

This is generally the case also when We have not heard
or understood with certainty the answer returned to our
question, and consequently repeat the interrogative word.

Example. — " When were you there last?" (Answer not distinctly
apprehended).

"When?" (implying'^ "Will you oblige me by repeating that?")

But if the feeling of the questioner is not of the apolo-
getic kind, he may throw incredulity or authority into the
repeated question. Thus,

"When?" (implying^ **Doyou really make so improbable a

statement?") or

""^WkenF* (implying^ " Answer directly and without evasion.")

. 78. In all these illustrations we may trace the working
of the two simple fundamental principles of inflexion, —
which, among many varieties of application, require no
category of Exceptions.

■ 79. In the following sentence, the elliptical questions,
'y<?r whomf^ and ^^for theeV^ illustrate the two classes
of interrogations, — the former being equivalent to '^br

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. TQI

whom shall we break it?^* and the latter to " shall we
do so for theef^^

**A11 this dread order break, — for whom? — for thee?

Vile worm I O madness I Pride ! Impiety I "

80. Questions of two parts connected by the conjunc-
tive or disjunctive particle ''^r," importantly illustrate
the two classes of interrogation. Thus : — "Are you go-
ing to Liverpool or Manchester?" — This, according to
the mode in which it is read, will be equivalent to "Are
you going to either of these places?" or '^To which of
these places are you going?" To convey the former
meaning "Liverpool" and "Manchester" will be pro-
nounced with the same or with only one accentual in-
flexion, or with no accent ; and to convey the latter sig-
nification they will be pronouhced with separate accents
and opposite inflexions. Questions of this kind, when
the verb is the subject of inquiry, may be resolved into,
"/y it either T^ and can be answered by yes or no; and
those in which the verb is not called in question may
always be resolved into ^^ which is itT^ and cannot be
answered by yes or no.

81. The mark of interrogation ( ?) is, in English punc-
tuation, placed at the end of the grammatical period, but
the interrogative sentence frequently terminates with a
participial, or other subordinate sentence, or with a
simile, and the interrogative inflexion should not be
continued in such concluding member. Thus, in the two
following passages, the questions virtually close at " es-
teem" and " presence," and there the interrogative into-
nation must end.

" Would'st thou have that
Which thou esteem's t the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem, —
Letting * I dare not ' wait upon * I would,'
Like the poor cat i' the adage ? " — Shakespeare.

** Didst thou not think, such vengeance must await
The wretch that, with his crimes all fresh about him.
Rushes irreverent, unprepared, uncalled.
Into his Maker's presence — throwing back
With insolent disdain His choicest gift ?" — Dr. Porteous

I02 SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

XVI. GOVERNING AND DEPENDENT WORDS.

82. Governing and dependent words should be united ;
but when a word is at the same time dependent on what
precedes, and governing to what follows, it should be
separated from the former, to show its closer relation
to the latter.

83. Also, when two or more words have a common
relation to some other word, the former should be united
iimong themselves, but separated from the word to which
they are equally related.

EMamfles.

We have done those things.

We have done — those things which we ought not to have done.

We forgive them.

We forgive — them that trespass.

He hath scattered the proud.

He hath scattered — the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

To judge the quick.

To judge— the quick and the dead.

To confess our sins.

To confess — our manifold sins and wickedness.

And am no more worthy.

And am no more — ^worthy to be called thy son.

Distressed in mind.

Distressed — in mind, fcody, or estate.

XVII. SERIES.

84. When there are two or more words, clauses, or
sentences, in apposition — subjects, predicates or circum-
stances — they may be either compacted into a series —
by rising inflexions, as in counting — or pronounced with
independent inflexions, as if each stood alone in the sen-
tence. The former mode of intonation exhibits most em-
phatically the aggregate value of the serial members, and
the latter gives them the greatest amount of individual
emphasis. Sequences of words or clauses in apposition
are only to be pronounced connectedly, when they seem
to require aggregation to convey the full import of the
passage.

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. IO3

XVIII. RESUMfi OF THE LEADING PRINCIPLES OF
SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

85. The general principles to be attended to in reading
are briefly and simply these : —

Does the clause or sentence communicate the speaker's
will or knowledge? if ^o^fall; if not, rise.

Does the clause or sentence appeal to the hearer's will
or knowledge? if so, rise; if not, fall.

Is the clause or sentence dependent on some other to
complete the sense ? if so, give it connective or referential
tones ; if not, pronounce it irrespectively of what follows,
and with tones rising or falling in accordance with its
own expressiveness.

Is the subordinate sentence a necessary complement of
the principal? if so, give it corresponding modulative
pitch, and connective or referential tones ; if not, read it
in a different pitch, and with independent inflexions.

Are the items of the Series severally or collectively im-
portant to the sense ? if the former, pronounce them with
disjunctive inflexion, and subsequent pause ; if the latter,
aggregate them by connective inflexion and correspond-
ence of modulation.

%6. Ordinary elocutionary Rules— especially those of
the Series — render reading at sight impossible ; but, with
such guiding Principles as the above, it is perfectly and
effectively practicable. The voice has been shown to
have a certain definite expressiveness in every movement,
which may apply to any form of construction, according
as the intent of the speaker requires the vocal effect.
Rules for natural reading, then, cannot be founded on the
grammatical forms of periods, or complete sentences, but
on the inherent expressiveness of the vocal movements,
and the independent or relative value of clauses.

87. Rxercise on Sentential Inflexions.

The following Exercise, including sentences of every
variety, aflbrds a convincing illustration of the governing
force of Tones, and the independence of inflexion on
grammatical construction. Each of these diverse modes

I04 SENTENTIAL INTONATION.

of delivering the very same woVds is, under certain cir-
cumstances, appropriate and natural.

Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go.

Were you there. Were you there. Were you there.

Were you there.

Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it

right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right.

Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it

possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible.

Is it possible. Is it possible.

That is all. That is all. T^iat is all. That is all.

That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all.

How do you do. How do you do. How do you do.

Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gond'away.

Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away.

No more. No more. No more. No more. No more.

Have patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have

patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have

patience. Have patience.

The Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The

SENTENTIAL INTONATION. I05

Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The Christian's
hope. The Christian's hope is fixed. The Christian's
hope is fixed. The Christian's hope is fixed on heaven.
The Christian's hope is fixed on heaven

He reads correctly. He reads correctly. He reads
correctly. He reads correctly. He reads correctly when
he likes. He reads correctly when he likes. He reads
correctly when he likes. He reads correctly when he
likes to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes
to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes to
pay attention.

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION,

PART THIRD.

MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE DELIVERY.

1. Modulation has reference to the Pitch or "Key" of
the voice, and to the expressive variations of Force, Time,
and Quality.

PITCH.

2. A change of Pitch is necessary to distinguish :

I. Questions from answers.
II. Assertions from proofs or illustrations.

III. General statements from inferences, &c.

IV. Quotations.

V. A new division of a subject.
VI. Changes of sentiment.
VII. Explanatory and parenthetic matter.

3. The degree in which the pitch is changed, and,
often, even the direction of the change, will depend on
the reader's taste, judgement, temperament, &c. As a
general rule, low keys are associated with solemnity, awe,
fear, humility, and sadness ; and high keys with levity;
boldness, pride, and joy. Violent passions nearly al-
ways take a high modulation.

4. A harmony of modulation must be maintained be-
tween syntactically related parts of a sentence — such as
subject and predicate, verb and object, &c.— especially
when they are separated by intervening clauses.

5. For directive notation in the exercises that follow,
five degrees of Pitch are distinguished : a middle or
" conversational " key (No. 3) ; and two keys respec-

I08 PITCH, FORCE AND TIME.

tively higher (Nos. 4 and 5) ; and two lower (Nos. 2
and i). Thus —

5 high

4 . above

1 __^ middle

2 r below

I low

Besides these numbers for absolute pitch, the follow-
ing signs for relative pitch are occasionally used : —

r . . . . higher
L . . . . lower

FORCE.

6. Force is entirely different from Pitch. All varie-
ties of Pitch may be accompanied by any degree of
Force. Low keys may be vehement, and high keys may
be feeble ; and vice versd. In notation, five degrees of
Force are distinguished. Thus : —

V Vehement

E Energetic

M Moderate

VV Weak

F Feeble

The following signs fotTelative force are also occasion-
ally employed : —

< . . . . stronger
> . . . . weaker

TIME.

7. A corresponding notation is employed for the Time
or rate of utterance ; including a " common" or medium
degree, and two degrees relatively quicker, and two
slower. Thus : —

R Rapid

Q^ Quick

C Common

S Slow

T Tardy

The following additional signs for relative time may
sometimes be found convenient :

V . . . quicker
A . . . slower

EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. IO$

8. Simple narrative generally requires a medium Force
and Time ; animated description an increase of energy
and speed ; violent passions a greater increase ; and ten-
der emotions a decrease. Pathos and solemnity require
a slow movement. Subordinate clauses and sentences,
parentheses, &c., are, generally, but not always, pro-
nounced with less force and in quicker time than princi-
pal members.

9. A great deal of pleasing and expressive variety may
be produced by slight variations of Pitch, Force, and
Time. The musician's consummate delicacy of execution,
in keeping the simple air running with a separate cur-
rent in the midst of a river of variations, has its counter-
part in the reader's vocal adaptation of sound to sense.
The painter's artistic excellence in selecting objects to be
" struck out " with varied effects, or '' covered down " for
contrast, is emulated by the skilful reader, in the due
subordination or prominence of every thought and cir-
cumstance, according to its relative importance. A Mas-
ter of Ceremonies is not more punctilious in his arrange-
ments than the voice of a tasteful and judicious reader.

EXPRESSIVE QUALITY.

10. Under this head are comprehended such Expres-
sive Modulations as fundamentally affect the quality of
the voice, or the mode of utterance, and enable the reader
to *' make the sound an echo to the sense."

1 1 . The most finely toned voice, with all the charms
of graceful and distinct articulation, will not suffice to
make an effective reader, if there be not a constant cur-
rent of SENTIMENT Streaming through the inflexions and
articulate utterances. Speech, though chiefly mechani-
cal, and therefore, — so far as articulation, force, time,
and musical changes are concerned, — imitable by artificial
contrivances, receives a higher and inimitable expressive-
ness from the feeling of the speaker. There is a Vocal
Logic ; a Rhetoric of Inflexion ; a Poetry of Modulation ;
a Commentator's explanatoriness of Tone, — and these are
combined in effective reading. Reading fails of half its
proper effect, and of its highest purpose, if it does not fur-
nish, besides a vocal transcript of the written language.

no EXPRESSIVE QJJALITY.

a commentary upon its sentiment, and a judgement upon
its reasoning. The language of Emotion must accompany
every utterance that is naturally delivered. Yet how many
merely mechanical speakers there are, whose voices know-
no thrill of feeling, and who throw off their tame mo-
notonous oratory " coldly correct and regularly dull,"
nerveless, and passionless as automata. Let it be the ob-
ject of the elocutionary student to awaken in himself a
sympathetic sensibility with every utterance ; — to " learn
to feel ;" — and to keep the fine-strung organs of expres-
siveness in a state of delicate susceptibility. Let him
make the language he reads his own, and always, in its
delivery, " be in earnest." A simple system of notation,
will be of great assistance in the formation of a habit of
discriminating Expressiveness.

12. The following elements of Expressive quality will
be found sufficiently to indicate the functional manifes-
tations of nearly all passions. Abbreviations for notation
are shown within parentheses.

ELEMENTS OF EXPRESSIVE QUALITY.
Qualities, Expressions.

Whisper (Wh. ) . . Secrecy, cunning, apprehension of evil,
fe9Hul suspense, &c.

Hoarseness (Ho.) , Horror, loathing, agony, despair, &c.

Orotund (Or.) . . Pomp, sublimity, vastness ;" also bora-
bast, self-importance, &c.

Falsetto (Fa.) . . Puerility, senility; also acute anguish,
or overpowering mirth, &c.

Monotone (Mo.) . . Reflection, gloom, melancholy, awe, &c.

Plaintive (PI.) . , Suffering, sympathy, desire, supplica.
tion, &c.

Tremor (Tr.) . . . Anxiety, alarm, eagerness, intense emo-
tion.

Chuckle (Ch.) . . Boasting, triumph, delight, sneering,
merriment, &c.

Staccato (St.) . . Recrimination, reproach, &c. ; also dis-
tributed emphasis.

Smooth (Sm. ) . . . Admiration, tenderness, love,enjoyment,
&c.

Rhythm (Rh.) . . Regular movement, alternation, sugges-
tion of music.

Prolongation (Pr.)— Scorn, malignity; also admiration, long-
ing, &c.

Restraint (Re«.) . Effect of distance ; also subdued passion,
choking, &c.

EXPRESSIVE QUALITY.

Ill

Straining (Str.) .
Panting (Pan.) .
Inspiration (In.) .
Expiration (Ex.)
Percussion (Per.)

Hem (Hm.).
Imitation (Im.)

Sympathy (Sym.)

Apathy (Ap.) . .

Warmth (Wa.) .

Sarcasm (Sar.) .
Break (...)

Stop (rtN) . . .

Effect of difficult effort ; also violent an-
ger, &c.

Perturbation, flurry, exhaustion, mental
suffering, &c.

Mental or bodilj agony, apprehension of
suffering, &c.

Sadness, sighing, sympathy in suffering,
&c.

Intensity of feeling, whether of joy or
sorrow.

Impatience, sneering, contempt, &c.

Analogizing properties of sound or mo-
tion, by degrees of Force, Time, &c. :
also ridicule.

Analogizing sentiments of gaiety, &c., by
buoyant inflection ; and of solemnity
by subdued tones, &c.

Inaccordance of expression with senti-
ment; indifference, &c.

Admiration, enjoyment, eagerness, an-
cer, &c.

Insincerity, double meaning, &c.

Reflective, monitory, hesitant, sugges-
tive.

Meditation, listening, anxious watchful-
ness, terror, &c.

Tremor :
Chuckling : — 1

13. Explanatory Notes on the Preceding Expressive Qualities,

Orotund : — A deep, full-throated, mellow voice.
Falsetto : — A thin, shrill voice.

Plaintive: — ^Inflexions limited to the semitone and minor
third.

tThe quality of tremor is common equally to
sentiments of sadness and joy. The inflec-
tive intervals are in the minor mode for the
former, and in the major mode for the latter.
Staccato: — Pointed accentuation on every word or every
syllable.

Smooth :— Soft, flowing, slightly accentuated sound.
Rhythm : — Equal pulsation of accent and remission.
Prolongation : — Either of vowel sound or of consonant effect.
Restraint: — The volume of voice checked at the throat.
Straining : — Restrained voice with strong consonant pressure.
Percussion : — Either of voice from the throat or of consonant
breath.

Hem : — ^A kind of snorting utterance.

112

EXPRESSIVE QUALITY.

14. Recapitulative Table of the Notations for Inflexion,
Pitch, Force, Time, and Expression.

Pitch,

Force.

Time,

5 •

. . High

Vehemence

R .

. Rapid

4 •

. . Above

Energy

q. .

. Quick

3 •

. . Middle

Moderate

C .

Common

. . Below

Weak

S .

. Slow

I .

. . Low

Feeble

T .

. Tardy

r .

. . Higher

. Stronger

. . Quicker

1 .

. . Lower

. Weaker

. . Slower

1 .

. . Clause

. .. .

. Break

/TS

. . Pause

Whisper

Hoarseness

Orotund

Falsetto

Monotone

Plaintive

Tremor

Chuckle

Expression.

St . Staccato
Sm . Smooth
Rh . Rhythm
Pr . Prolongation
Res . Restraint
Str . Straining
Pan . Panting
In . Inspiration

Ex .
Per .
Hm
Im
Sym.
Ap
Wa .
Sar

Expiration

Percussion

Hem

Imitation

Sympathy

Apathy

Warmth

Sarcasm

Simple. Compound.

' ' ^

Rise

Fall

Rise

Fall

Middle

/ ./

N 'N :n

vr 'V/

Pitch

/ ./ :/

V -v

v/ /v^

•\ ./s

15. The following collection of short expressive pas-
sages, carefully marked for exercise, will enable the stu-
dent to acquire an agreeable flexibility and effective modu-
lation of the voice, and to cultivate the habit of suiting
THE SOUND TO THE SENSE in reading.

16. The marking is to be considered merely as an
EXERCISE. The same passages might be read, — and

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II 3

perhaps with equal effect — in a variety of ways. The
notation simply illustrates one mode, which is at least
effective and fully expressive of the sense and sentiment.
17. The preparatory pitch of syllables before the ac-
cent is not indicated in the printing. It is always, how-
ever, implied. Thus the introductory couplet in the first
extract is to be read : —

Not always actions show the man ; we find
Who does a kindness is not therefore kind.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.
ACTIONS. — Pope.

Not always actions show the man ; we find

Who does a kindness is not therefore kind :

Perhaps prosperity becalmed his breast ;

Perhaps the wind just shifted from the east :

Not therefore humble he who seeks retreat ;

Pride guides his steps, and bids him shun the great x

Who combats bravely is not therefore brave.

He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave :

Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise.

His pride, in reasoning, not in acting lies.
••\ ^

AMBITION. — ToUUg,
3 > N

Ambition, in the truly noble mind,

With sister . . . Virtue, is for ever joined.

In meaner minds, Ambition works alone,

But [with sly art, | puts Virtue's aspect on.
3 vr •

No mask, in basest mind, Ambition wears,

But, fin full light, | pricks up her ass's ears.

114 EXERCISES IX EXPRESSIVE READING.

AMBITION DISSATISFIED. — Touug.
8

Consult the ambitious, — 'tis ambition's cure :

''And is this all?" <aied Caesar, fin his height,

Disgusted.
•/>

AMBITION RSPBNTSD. — BrOOke.

Oh I that some villagfer, [whose early toil
Lifts the penurious morsel to his mouth |
Had claimed my birth ! ambition had not then
Thus stept 'twixt me and heaven.

V V

AMBITIOUS RIVALRY. — Cowpev.
8

On the summit | see
The seals of office glitter in his eyes ;

8 V ' -v "^ 2

He climbs, he pants, he grasps them. At his heels,

Close at his heels, a demagogue ascends.

And I with a dext'rous jerk | soon twists him down,

And wins them, . . . but to lose them in his turn.

ANCESTRY. — AlcX, Bell.

If we must look to ancestry for fame,

^^ /

Let us at least deal justly with mankmd.

Why should we rake the ashes of the dead

For honours only.? why conceal their crimes?

We snatch our fathers' glories from the dust,

And wear them [as our own : | Why should we seek

To cover with oblivion | their shames ?
Q5r ^ St V,

The frailties of our sires f set full in view I
IF ^ v,^

Might teach their children modesty.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II 5

ANGER. — Baillie.

Out upon thee, fool I Go, speak thy . . . comforts

To spirits tame and abject as thyself:

They make me . . . mad.
•/>

AVARICE. — Pope.

Wealth in the gross is death, but life diffused ;

.V ^

[As poison heals, in just proportion used :

/ '^

In heaps, [like ambergris, | a stink it lies.

But, well dispersed, is incense to the skies.

BEAUTY. — Baillie,
To make the cunning artless, tame the rude,
Subdue the haughty, shake the undaunted soul ;

Yea, put a bridle in the lion's mouth,
St -^ ./^

[And lead him forth as a domestic cur, —
Wa .V

These are the triumphs of all powerful beauty.

BLINDNESS . — Miltotl,

Oh ! dark, dark, dark, famid the blaze of noon, I

Irrevocably dark — total eclipse —

Without all hope of day ! |
AS

Oh, first created beam, and thou, great Word.
Or N

" Let there be light," [and light was I over all : I

Why am I | thus bereav'd thy prime decree ?
CHARITY. — JRowe.

3 .s

Think not, the good,
The gentle deeds of mercy thou ha^t done,
Shall die forgotten all : the poor, the prisoner.
The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow.

Il6 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

LWho daily own the bounty of thy hand, |
Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee.

CHILDHOOD.
3 • .V

The world of a child's imagination is the creation of a far

holier spell | than hath been ever wrought [by the pride of learn-

ing, or the inspiration of poetic fancy. Innocence that thinketh

no evil ; ignorance that apprehendeth none ; hope that hath

experienced no blight: love that suspecteth no guile; these are

its ministering angels ! these wield a wand of power, making this

• ^ 2fir^

earth a paradise I/CsTime, [hard, rigid teacher ! | Reality, [rough,

stern reality! | World, [cold, heartless world! that ever your
> ^ > IV .V

sad experience, your sombre truths, your killing cold, your
Q Per ^ 3 ^ ^ ^

withering success, could scare those gentle spirits from their

holy temple ! And wherewith do ye replace them ? With caution,

[that repulses confidence, | with doubt, [that repelleth love ; j

with reason that dispelleth delusion ; with fear, fthat poiseneth

enjoyment; in a word, with knowledge, — that fatal fruit, the

^ < '^ Pl^

tasting whereof, [at the first onset, | cost us paradise.

COMMENTATORS. — Toung".

Commentators each dark passage shun,

And hold their . . . farthing candle to the sun.

CONTEMPT. -i-^jrfO»
.V 2Q

e I Hence, — that wo
For brutes of burthen, not for birds of prey ; —

.V 2Q
Patience I Hence,— that word was made

Preach it to mortals of a dust like thine,
I . . . am not of thine order.

BXBRCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II7

CORRUPTION. — Covjper,

Examine well
•N 8 fir y/ %^

His . • . milk-white hand /^ the palm is hardly clean,

**" \
But I here and there, an ugly smutch appears.

Foh ! 'twas a bribe that left it. He has touched

Corruption.

COURAGE. — Brown,

The intent I and not the deed I
Is in our power ; and therefore, who dares greatl^i
Does greatly.

CONFLICTING PASSIONS. — Skakesfeure.

I pr'ythee, daughter, do not make me mad I
3 STr ^ ^v

I will not trouble thee I my child, farewell !

St X ./ y^ /

We'll no more meet, no more see one another 1
"StPvr <^ > '

But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter,
•4 2? .^ • • • • • •

Or, rather, a disease thafs in my flesh —

Which I must needs call mine ! thou art /rs a boil —
••\ ^ -s

A plague-sore — an embossed carbuncle,
9F8 V

In my corrupted blood . . . But /rs I'll not /r\ chide thee :

\/ • ^

Let shame come when it will, I do not call it.
Or .V -^

I do not bid the thunder-bearer strike,
Tr y ^ V ^

Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove : . . .
4F / ^ ^

Mend, when thou canst ; be better — at thy leisure I

DSFIANCS. — Taung.

Torture thou mayst, but . . . thou shalt ne'er despise me.
The blood will follow where the knife is driven.
The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear;
And sighs and cries P)y nature | grow on pain :

Il8 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

But these are foreign to the soul : not mine
The groans that issue, or the tears that fall ;
They disobey me ! /r\ [On the rack | I . . . scorn thee.

DESERT. — Shakespeare,

Use every man according to his desert, and who shall escape
./s ^^ ^ '^ ^ I "^

whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity : the

less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty.

DESPAIR. — Maturin,

9Pl ^ ,

The fountain of my heart dried up within me, —

With nought that lov'd me, and with nought to love*

V ifon

I stood upon the desert earth . . . alone ;
a s, Tr

And [in that deep and utter agony, |

[Though then, I than ever 1 most unfit to die, I

I fell upon my knees, and prayed for death.

DISCRIMINATION.— .S^a^i&«5/«ar^.

Ye are men ?
Pr ^ ^

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ;

As hounds and greyhounds, mong^ls, spaniels, curs^
Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves, are cleped
All by the name of dogs : | the valued file
Distinguishes . . . the swift, the slow, the subtle.
The house-keeper, the hunter, every one

/ ^ ^ V

According to the gift which bounteous Nature

Hath in him closed : whereby he doth receive

Particular addition, from the bill
•/\

That writes them all alike.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II9

DISTINCTIONS.

1 1 .imazi society requires distinctions of property, diversity of
conditions, subordinations of rank, and a multiplicity of occu-
pations, [in order to advance the general good.

DISTRACTION. — Shakes fca re.

You see me here, ye gods, a poor old man.

As full of grief as age, wretched in both!
5IV Pr ^

You think Fll weep; no, Y\\ not weep : —
ajf Ptr ^ ^ ^

I have full cause of weeping ; but this heart

Shall /cs burst into a hundred thousand flaws.
Or ere Fll weep — O Gods, I shall go madl

DOMINION'. — Milton.

Here we may reign secure ; and, [in my choice, |
To reign is worth ambition [though in hell :
Better to reign in hell than . . . serve in heaven.

EMOTIONS.

The emotions pervade every operation of the mind, as the
life-blood circulates through the body; within us and without,
in the corporeal world and in the spiritual, in the past, the present,
and the future, there is no object of thought which they do not
touch ; there are few, very few, which they do not colour and
transmute.

•v

ENERGETIC EFFORT. — Shakespeare,

3 Sir

I saw him . . . beat the surges under him.

And ride upon their backs ; he trod the water,

[Whose enmity he flung aside, [and breasted

I20 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

Jth ^

The surse most swollen that met him : his bold head

.V ^ V iV

'Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oared

Himself with his good arms, in lusty strokes.

To the shore, [that [o'er his wave-borne basis J bowed

As stooping to relieve him.

ENVY. — Byron.

He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find

The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow :

He who surpasses or subdues mankind,

[Must look down on the hate of those below.

Though [high above, | the sUn of glory glow.

And [far beneath | the earth and ocean spread,
vr ^ -v Im

Round him are icy rocks, | and loudly blow

•v ^ Si/m

Contending tempests | on his naked head ;
AS v/ v

And thus . . . reward . . . the toils which to those summits led.

EVIL CONSCIENCE. — Dryden,

Here, here it lies : a lump . . . of /cs lead, | by day? |

And j in my short, distracted nightly slumbers |
Ho B»

The hag . . . that rides my dreams.

EXASPERATION. Batllte.

8 2V V .V

Oh ! the side glance of that detested eye !

^ V ^ V C^

That conscious smile! that full insulting: lip !
It touches every nerve ; it makes me . . . mad !

EXISTENCE. — SewelL
8 v/ 'v.

To be, 18 better far than not to be,

fElse nature cheated us in our formation.
4 ^ Sm

And when we are, the sweet delusion wears

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 121

Such various charms and prospects of delight,
That what we could not will, we make our choice.
(^Desirous tp prolong the life she gave.

EX-OFFICIO ENDOWMENTS. — Toung.

N N/ NT 'N

All soldiers, valour, [all divines have grace,

•v St
[As maids of honour, beauty, fby their place.

EXPERIENCE. — Toutlg,

8 N /

'Tis greatly wi^e to talk with our past hours ;

And ask them . . . what report they brought to heaven ;
a Pi Y' ^ Tr ^ ,

And how they might have borne . . . more welcome news.
8if ^ -v .^

Their answers form what men Experience call ;

If Wisdom's friend, her best, if not, worst foe.

•s

FAITH.

Though faith be above reason, yet is there a reason to be

given of our faith. He is a fool who believes he neither knows

what nor why.

FAME. — Toung,

With fame [in just proportion | envy grows ;

The man that makes a character makes foes.

FIDELITY. — Maturin,

Yea, time hath power upon my hopeless love ;
3 .^ -v -^

And what a power, 1*11 tell thee :
^S Bh -^

A power to change the pulses of the heart
Per -v

To one /tn dull rs\ throb, of ceaseless agony —
8 iV

To hush the sigh on the resigned lip

And lock it in the heart, — freeze the hot tear,
Fl '^ Per

And bid it on the eyelid hang . . . forever :

Such power hath time o*er me.
/ /\ s

122 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

FORTITUDE. — Byron.

The torture ! you have put me there, already,

/\ "^ 8

Daily [since I was Doge ! I but [if you will

Add the corporeal rack | you may : these limbs

< ^ . / 21?

Will yield [with age | to crushing iron, but

There's that within my heart shall strain your engines.

FORTUNE. — Tennyson.

Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel and lower the proud ;

Turn thy wild wheel fthro' sunshine, storm, and cloud ;

Thy wheel and thee | we | neither love nor hate.
Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel with smile or frown ;
With that wild wheel we go not up or down ;

Our hoard is little, but our hearts are g^reat

GREATNESS.— Toung,

High stations, tumult, I but not bliss I create :
None think the great unhappy but the g^eat.
HEARTS. — Byron.

Heads bow, knees bend, eyes watch, I around a throne, —

' , ^E ^ \s, Sflm ^

And hands obey | our hearts . . . are still our own.
,/> /\

HUMAN LIFE.— C«?w/tf r.

In such a world, [so thorny, and where none

Finds happiness unblighted, for [if found,

fWithout some thistly sorrow at its side, 1)

It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin

St '

Against the law of love, to measure lots

With less distinguished than ourselves, that thus

We may, with patience, bear our moderate ills.

And sympathize with others, suffering more.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 12^

HUMAN WRSTCHEDNSSS. — Soutkey*

3 As her bier

•V 4

Went to the grave, a lark sprang up aloil,

And soar'd amid the sunshine, caroling .

•V ^ ^ Ex

So full of joy, that [to the mourner's ear

More mournfully than dirge or passing bell

His joyful carol came /^ and made us feel

That l_of the multitude of beings, | none . . .
E» , Per

But man . . . was wretched I

IF. — Shakespea re .

I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel ; but.

when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but

of an If, as *' If you said so, then I said so." " Oh, /r\ did you

KCh .^ N/ / /s /\

so ?" — and they shook hands and were sworn brothers,

IMITATION. — Blair,

3 V s

Nothing is more natural than to imitate, [by the sound of the-

voice, I the quality of the sound [or noise | which any external

'^ * /s ^ 3 /

object makes, and to form its name accordingly. A certain bird

•N s 2

is termed the Cuckoo, from the sound which it emits. When

/m ^ /m

one sort of wind is said to . . . whistle, and another to . . . roar ;

iv yy

when a serpent is said to hiss, a fly to buzz, and falling timber

Per Sm K

to . . . CRASH ; when a stream is said to flow, and hail to rat-

TLE ; the analogy between the word and the thing signified is.

plainly discernible.
/>

iSGKATiTViyB.,— Shakespeare.
S Pr •s, -v ^

Blow, blow, thou wintry wind,
PI , ^

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude ;

Thy tooth is not so keen,

J 24 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

[Because thou art not seen |
Although thy breath be rude.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,

Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot :

Though thou the waters warp

Thy sting is not so sharp
As — Friend remembered not.

INSECT LIFE. — American Paper,

Insects generally must lead a truly jovial life. Think what

,/\ ^^ ./

It must be [to lodge in a lily. Imagine — a palace /cs of ivory and

^. -v / ^^ / -^ St

pearl /cs with pillars of silver and capitals of gold, and exhaling

:such a perfume as never arose from human censer. Fancy again,

the fun I of tucking one's-self up for the night in the folds of a

rose, rocked to sleep by the gentle sighs of summer air, nothing

to do when you wake but to wash yourself in a dew drop, and

Ch .^ •-<

-fall to eat your bedclothes.

INTERROGATION.
4 3

" I have something more to ask you," said a young eagle | to a
•^4 5 ^ "^^

learned), melancholy owl : '* Men say | there is a bird, [by name

Merops, | who, when he rises in the air, flies with his tail up-

wards and his head towards the ground. Is that true }"
2 Or 4 V :^

" Certainly not," answered the owl, " it is only a foolish tra-
^ ^ ,s ^9 ^ 25

•dition of man; he is himself a Merops: for he would fly to

•NT .V -^ .n"^

lieaven, without | for a moment | losing sight of the earth."

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 25

KINGLY POWER. — Skokesfeare.

Oh, not a minute, king, thj power can give :

Shorten my days thou can'st [with sullen sorrow |

V ^ 8t

And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow :

4 ..^ , , ^

Thou can'st help Time to furrow me [with age, |

3 ^^ ^

But stop no wrinkle in his pilgrimage ;

•^ ^ NT

Thy word is current with him, for my death ;

./- 5 J^ /^

But, fdead, | thy kingdom cannot buy my breath.

LAZINESS. —/Ta//.

Lazmess grows on people ; it begins in cobwebs, and ends /rs in
iron chains. The more business a man has, the more he is able
to accomplish; for/T\ he learns to economize his time.

LIFE. — Madden.
I have tried this world fin all its changes.

States, and conditions : | have been great, and happy,

^ -^ 4JBEr '*

Wretched and low, and passed through all its stages^

And, oh I believe me, [who have known it best, |

It is not worth the bustle that it costs ;

Tis but a medley — all — of idle hopes

And abject childish fears.

LIGHTS AND SHADES.

The gloomiest day hath gleams of light ;

The darkest wave hath white foam near it;

And— twinkles through the cloudiest night

Some solitary star to cheer it.
%B 3 \-

The gloomiest soul is not all gloom ;

The saddest heart is not all sadness ;
8 Sm ••/

And sweetly o'er the darkest doom

There shines some lingering beam of gladness^

126 EXERCISSS IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

LOVERS* STUDIES.
s/ / / /

To a lover, the figures, the motions, the words of the beloved
object, are not, [like other images, | written on water, but, [as
Plutarch said | *' enameled in fire " and made the study of mid-
night.

LOVERS. — Stt R. Aytoun.

Some men seem so distracted of their wits,

That I would think it but a venial sin,

To take | one of these innocents, that sit

In Bedlam, | out, and put some lover in.

?/>

LUDICROUS DISTRESS.— -^tf«ry Mackenzie,

I had — a piece — of nch — sweet pudding— on my fork, when Miss

Louisa Friendly begged to /cs trouble me for part of a pigeon

e. In :

that stood near me. In my haste I scarce knowing what I did, |

I . . . whipped the pudding into my mouth, /t\ hot, as a burning

coal! It was impossible to conceal my agony; my eyes were

%S ' Pan .V V

starting from their sockets ! At last, |_in spite | of shame and

resolution, | I was obliged to /cs drop /cs the cause of my torment
on my plate.

MAN. — Shakespeare,
What a piece of work is man I how noble in reason I how
infinite in faculties ! in form and moving how express and ad-
mirable
a god!

mirable ! in action how like an angel I in apprehension how like

MARTYRS. — Hemans,
Oh I be the memory cherished
Of those [the thousands I that around Truth's throne
Have poured their lives out, fsmiling, /c\ [in that doom
Finding a triumph, if denied a tomb ! —

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 27

* / -.v

Ay, with their ashes hath the wind been sown,

And [with the wind | their spirit shall be spread,
Filling man's heart with records of the dead.

The man who does not know how to methodize his thoughts
has always [to borrow a phrase from the dispensary, | a barren
superfluity of words.

MURDER. — Dr, Porieous.

One murder made a villain :

Millions a hero. Princes were privileged

^^ ,^ Ex

To kill, and numbers /cs sanctified the crime.

MURDER. — Baiilie.
3 .V PI ./

Twice it call'd, — so loudly call'd,

With horrid strength, [beyond the pitch of nature; |

And murder! murder! was the dreadful cry (
8 .V F

A third time /r\ it returned, [with feeble strength,

But . . . o' the sudden . . . ceased, /T\as though the words

In -^ Str

Were . . . smothered . . . rudely ... in the grappled throat/:\

And /cs all /TN was still again, save the wild blast

Which at distance growl'd —

Oh! it will never from my mind depart!
A. Tr 2

That dreadful cry ... all i' the instant stilled.

PARISH COMMON. — Bitza Cook,

3 V 4 ^

It glads the eye — it warms the soul
To gaze upon the rugged knoll,
Where tangled brushwood twines across
The struggling brake and sedgy moss.

128 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

Oh I who would have the grain spring up

Where now we find the daisy's cup? —

Where clumps of dark red heather ^leam

With beauty in the summer beam, —

. V Sym

And yellow furze-bloom . . . laughs to scorn

Your ripen'd hopes and bursting corn ? . . .

2 • ^ E ^
God speed the plough ! But let us trace

Something of nature's infant face ;

3 V .• St ^

Let us behold some spot [where man
Has not yet set his •* bar and ban," I
Leave us some green wastes, I fresh and wild,
For poor man's beast, and poor man's child.

PARTING.

The true sadness of parting is not in the pain of separating;
it is the when and the how you are to meet again | with the face
about to vanish from your view. From the passionate farewell,
to the friendly good-bye, a chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped

• '^ 3 V N/ *

asunder in every parting. Meet again you may; but will it be

in the same circumstances ? with the same sympathies ? with the

V ^S

same sentiments ? Will the souls now hurrying on in diverse

paths unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream?

Rarely, oh, rarely.

PRAYBR.— iV. P. Willis,

Oh ! when the heart is full — ^when bitter thoughts

Come crowding thickly up for utterance, —

And the poor common words of courtesy
1 3 JV

Are such a very mockery — how much

The bursting heart may pour itself in prayer.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 29

PROSPERITY.

There is ever a certain languor attending the fulness of pros-
8 -^ .X ^ Im

perity. When the heart has no more to wish, it . . . jawns over

its possessions, and the energy of the soul goes out, |,like a flame

that has no more to devour.

REASONING. — Z>r. Toung^
Bid physicians talk our veins to temper.
And I with an argument | new-set a pulse : —
Then think, [my lord, | of reasoning into love.

REFLECTION.

He that would pass the latter part of his life with honour and
decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day
be old, and remember when he is old, that he lias once been
young.

RESULTS.
3

Scorn not the slightest word or deed,

Nor deem it void of power ;
There's fruit in each wind-wafted seed,

[Waiting its natal hour : |
No act falls fruitless : none can tell

How vast its power may be ;
Nor what results infolded, dwell

Within it | silently.

RIDICULOUS DEFERENCE. — Cotv/tfr.

He would not, [with a peremptory tone, |

/\ '^ Vf

Assert the nose upon his face, his own ;
With . . . hesitation /^admirably . . . slow.

He . . . humbly . . . hopes, /9s presumes ... it . . . may be so.

130 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

SIGNS OF u>\JL,^DfydeH.
I find she loves him much, f because she hides it. |
Love teaches cunnmg even to innocence :
And, where he gets possession, his first work

Is to dig deep within the heart, and there
\8 ^ ^ ^

Lie hid I like a miser in the dark,
ZWa .^ ^

To feast alone!

SLAVERY. — Brougham,

Tell me not of rights— talk not of the property of the planter
/ fir :v
in his slaves : — I deny the right, I acknowledge not the property.

:v • -v '^ ^

The principles, the feelings of our common nature rise m rebel-

./^
lion against it.

SPASMODIC EMOTION. — Batllie,
Z , Hes y

I felt/<s a sudden tightness, /^ grasp my throat . . .

2
As it would strangle me, . . . such as I felt,

[I knew it well | some twenty years ago,

Tr , ^/

When . . . my good father . . . shed his blessing on me : . . .
SJf .V s/ .^

I hate to weep, and so I came away.

STAIRS TO MAKKiAGK.—SAakespeare.
3 171 ^ .y 6 P \^

Your brother and my sister no sooner met but they . . . looked :
EQ . 8 ^ u 3 / Im

no sooner looked but they loved ; no sooner loved but they . . .

Sym '^ >

sighed : no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason ;
E ..^ Ch M '^

no sooner knew the reason, but they . . . sought the remedy ; and

in these degrees they have made a pair of stairs to marriage.
SYMPATHY. — 5. T. Coleridge.
He that works me good | with unmoved face,
Does it but half: he chills me while he aids, —

3 .-^ -v "^

My benefactor, I not my brother man.

EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. I3I

SYMPATHY. — Shakespeare.

3 ^ a

Thy heart is big : get thee apart and weep.

3 Bym. '^ ^ ^ ^

Passion, [I see | is catching; for mine eyes,
,• /\

[Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine |
TV-
Begin . . . to . . . water.

TEARS. — Byron.

* v
Hide thy tears —

3 v^ 4 ^

I do not bid thee | not to shed them ; 'twere

Easier to stop Euphrates at its source,

Than one tear | of a true and tender heart ; —
1 ,^ Tr

But ... let me not behold them, /ts they . . . unman me.

•\

TEARS. — W. E. Aytoun.

Woman's weakness shall not shame me —

Why should I have tears to shed ?

4 .-v .^ Per
Could I rain them down like water, |

O, my hero, on thy head —
3 ^

Could the cry of lamentation

Wake thee from thy silent sleep, —

Could it set thy heart a-throbbing /ts
a ./x Pr

It were mine to wail and weep.

TIME. — Carlos Wilcox.

Time well employed is Satan's deadliest foe :

•\ *^

It leaves no opening for the lurking fiend :

Life It imparts to watchfulness and prayer, —

Statues, without it, f in the form of guards.

132 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING.

TRUE COURAGE. — Batllte,

The brave man | is not he who feels no fear.

fFor that were stupid and irrational ; I
^8t ,,, . ^

But he, whose noble soul its fear subdues,

And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from,
2 Hm '^ ^

As for your youth, whom blood and blows delight,
4.E »^ 2. .V

Away with them ! there is not in their crew

One valiant spirit,

TEACHERS.

Nothing stifles knowledge more than covering every thing
^ 2

with a doctor's robe; and the men who would be for ever

teaching, are great hindrances to learning.

THE FALLING LEAF. — Hemans.

As the light leaf, [whose fall, to ruin bears

Some trembling msect's little world of cares, |

V <

Descends in silence, [while around waves on

The mighty forest . . . reckless what is gone ! —
2S« 3 ^ '^

I Such is man's doom | and, [ere an hour be flown, I
1 V, -O 3 -v /

/Ts Reflect, thou trifler /ts such may be thine own !

WISDOM OF THE DEITY. — Dr, Dtck,

The astonishing multiplicity of created beings, the wonderful
laws of nature, the beautiful arrangement of the heavenly
bodies, the elegance of the vegetable world, the operations of
animal life, and the amazing harmony of the whole creation,
loudly proclaim | the wisdom | of the Deity.

EXBRCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 33

WIT. — Cowjfer.
Is sparkling wit the world's exclusive right —
[The fix'd fee-simple of the vain and light?
Can hopes of heaven, [bright prospects of an hour,
fThat come to waft us out of sorrow's power, |
Obscure, or quench ... a faculty, that finds
Its happiest soil in the serenest minds ?/ts
Religion curbs indeed its wanton way,

And brings the trifles under rigorous sway ;
* .\

But gives it usefulness [unknown before, |

And [purifying | makes it shine the more.

A Christian's wit is inoffensive light,

A beam that aids, but never grieves the sight ;

Vigorous I in age, as in the flush of youth,

Tis always, | active on the side of truth ;

• ^ .\ '^

Temperance and peace insure its healthful state,
8t ^^ ^

And make it brightest at its latest date.

WOMAN. — Barrett,

Ask the poor pilgrim, [on this convex cast, —

[His grizzled locks distorted in the blast, | —

Ask him . . . what accent soothes, what hand bestows

The cordial beverage, garment and repose ?

O, he will dart a spark of ancient flame,
3 4kB

And clasp his tremulous hands, . . . and . . . woman name ! <9\

8Jf V 8 ^

Peruse the sacred volume : Him who died

Her kiss betrayed not, nor her tongue denied.

While even the apostle left Him to His doom,

She lingered round His cross, and watched His tomb.

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION.

PART FOURTH.

EMPHASIS.

I. geneblAlL principles.

1 . As every word of more than one syllable has an ac-
cented syllable, and every grammatical group of words
has an accented word, so every sentence or association of
grammatical groups has an accented or emphatic idea.
Emphasis is to verbal and clausular accents what the
accents themselves are to unaccented syllables.

2. Accent gives prominence to the leading syllables in
words, or words in clauses ; emphasis gives prominence
to the leading Idea, although it may be expressed by the
most subordinate word in the sentence.

3. The leading idea in a sentence is almost invariably
the new idea, and on the word expressive of this, what-
ever its grammatical value, the accent or emphasis falls.

4. The primary words in sentences are the noun (the
subject) and the verb (the predicate) ; and were clauses
containing nouns and verbs with their adjuncts', separated
from their sentential context, and pronounced as in a
vocabulary, the clausular accents would fall on these parts
of speech. Thus,

A funeral note,

A farewell shot,

The struggling moonbeam.

No useless coffin,

Eagerly wished.
Distinctly remembered.
Greatly marvelled.
No longer hesitating.

If the noun ox w^xh preceded the qualifying word, the
accent would probably be required by the latter, as it
would then be directly suggestive of antithesis. Thus,

136 BMPHASIS.

The moonbeam struggling, I Wished eagerly.

No coffin useless, | Remembered distinctly.

5. Nouns and verbs are t^e essential elements of sen-
tences. A sentence may be complete with these alone,
whHe no other parts of speech could make a sentence.

6. Next in grammatical value to nouns and verbs, are
those words which qualify nouns and verbs, called
adjectives and adverbs ; and next to these latter are those
words which qualify adjectives and adverbs, called also
adverbs, although they are adjuncts of an inferior class to
2i&verhs proper.

7. Of the other parts of speech the article is of the
same nature as the Adjective ; the Pronoun of the same
nature as the Noun ; the Preposition of the same nature
as the Adverb ; and the Interjection and Conjunction of
the same nature as the Verb.

8. "We never speak but we say something*' is an
adage that is not merely sarcastic in its application.
Every sentence says (or asserts) something, or asks
sometliing, or enjoins something ; but in connection with
that something, much more is frequently added of an ex-
planatory or complemental nature. In conversation we
feel what we wish to say, and we instinctively give prom-
inence to the leading thought and subordinate the
accessory parts of our sentences. On the printed page
we have the whole of a sentence before the eye at once,
principal and accessory parts alike ; and in accordance
with our view of the sense, we can, by varying the em-
phatic relation of the accents, make the sentence express
any one of half a dozen different thoughts as the prin-
cipal idea. As in extemporary delivery our perfect
knowledge of our own intention dictates the emphasis
that best expresses our meaning ; so, in reading, a clear
perception of the author's aim^ and recollection of what
has been said^ suggests the emphasis that is expressive
of the intended meaning.

9. In extemporary delivery we do not pronounce whole
sentences at a time, but clauses only ; and each clause, as
it is pronounced, receives such a modification of stress,
inflexion, and modulation, as marks its relation to the
dominant idea. We must apply the same principle to

EMPHASIS. 137

reading. Each clause contains a distinct idea, which
might take the form of a separate grammatical sentence,
and which is not so expressed only because its idea is
subordinate to the principal thought with which it is as-
sociated in the grammatical period. Clauses, then, should
be considered as distinct assertions, appeals or injunc-
tions ; and each should be pronounced with tones
ACCORDANT WITH ITS OWN NATURE, merely modified
as to pitch, force, time, and stress, in reference to the
leading idea in the sentence.

10. Antithesis or contrast is involved in emphasis.
We have seen that words, having a common accented
syllable, as expulsive and repulsive, have the accent
shifted to the syllable of difference when the words are
used in contrast. So in sentences : the most important
grammatical words will be pronounced without emphasis
if the same words, or any words involving the same idea,
have occurred in the context ; and the leading emphasis
will begiven, perhaps, to some words of the most subor-
dinate grammatical class which, but for the previous im-
plication of the more important words, would have been
pronounced entirely without accent.

1 1 . The strongest emphasis is given to words that are
suggestive of unexpressed antithesis. When antithesis
is fully expressed, the first of the contrasted words will
be emphatic only when it is new or antithetically sugges-
tive in relation to the preceding context ; it is not em-
phatic merely because an antithetic word follows. The
second of the contrasted words must be emphatic, be-
cause opposed to the preceding term.

12. To make the mode of applying the principle of Em-
phasis perfectly clear, the best way will be to analyse a
familiar piece of composition.

II. EXAMPLE OF EMPHATIC ANALYSIS.
LINES ON THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE.— ^f^//^<?.

13. At the commencement of a Composition everything
is, of course, new ; and the first subject and predicate will
be emphatic unless either is in the nature of things im-
plied in the other.

138 EMPHASIS.

** Not a drum \ was heard, | not a ftineral note \
As I his corpse | to the rampart \ we hurried."

The subject '' drum " will be accented and the predicate
" was heard '* unaccented, because the mention of a
" drum " involves, in the nature of things, recognition by
the sense of hearing. To accentuate " heard *' would in-
volve one of the false antitheses,

" Not a drum was heard, " (because we were deaf) j

or,
" Not a drum was heard, (but only seen or felt.)

The second subject " note '* will be emphatic because
it is contrasted with " drum," and suggests the antithesis
" not a note " (of any instrument.) " Funeral *' is un-
accented because pre-understood from the Title of the
Poem. In the next line " as " will be separately accented,
because it has no reference to the words immediately fol-
lowing, but to the verb *' we hurried. " " His corpse**
will be unaccented, because a funeral implies a corpse,
and there is no mention in the context of any otHcr than
" his. " The principal accent of the line may be given
to " rampart" or " hurried ; " the former would perhaps
be the better word, as it involves the antithesis, —

"To the rampart, " (and not to a cemetery.)

14. In the next two lines,

"Not a soldier | discharged his farewell shot \
0*er the grave | where | our hero | we buried,"

''Soldier" is implied in connection with " drum " and
''rampart," and the emphasis will fall on "shot,"
" discharged " being involved in the idea of " shot, " and
"farewell" being involved in the occasion to which
"shot" refers — a funeral. In the next line no word is
emphatic, as a " grave " is of course implied. " 0*er "
is implied in the nature of things, as the shot could not
be discharged under the grave ; " our hero " is the same
as " his corpse;" and "we buried" is involved in the
mention of " corpse " and " grave."

15. In the next lines,

** We buried him | darkly | at dead oi nighty \
The sods | with our b.ayonets \ turning, "

EMPHASIS. 139-

the first clause will be unemphatic, as the fact has been
already stated. To emphasize "buried" would suggest
the false antithesis

•* We buried him " (instead of leaving him on the battle-field.)

"Darkly" and "at dead of night" convey the same
idea ; the latter being the stronger expression will receive
the principal accent — on " night ; " — and " darkly" will
be pronounced parenthetically. " Turning the sods " is,
of course, implied in the act of burying ; the word " bayo-
nets, " therefore, takes the principal accent of the line,,
because involving the antithesis

** With our bayonets, " (and not with spades.)

16. " By the struggling moonhetim*6 misty light,

And the ianUrn] dimly burning. "

In the first clause, " moonbeam's " will be accented, and
"misty light" unaccented, because implied in "the
sirug-^ltn^ moonbeam's." "Lantern" in the second
line will take the superior accent of the sentence because,
of the two sources of light spoken of, it is the more im-
mediately serviceable on the occasion ; and " dimly burn-
ing " will be unaccented, unless the forced antithesis be
suggested, —

** Dimly burning," (as with shrouded light, to escape observation.)!

17. " No useless cojiu \ enclosed his breast ;

Not in sheet I nor in shroud \ we wound him. "

Emphasis on " coffin, " because the word not only con-
veys a new idea, but is suggestive of contrast : —

** No coffin, " (as at ordinary interments.)

No accent on " useless, " because it would suggest the
false antithesis.

*• No useless coffin, " (but only one of the least dispensable kind.)-

"Enclosed his breast" without emphasis, because im-
plied in the mention of "coffin. " Emphasis on "breast "
would convey the false antithesis,

(Not) ** his breast, " (but merely some other part of his body.)

"Sheet" and "shroud" in the second line express
the same idea ; the latter being the stronger term, takes-

140 EMPHASIS.

the leading accent. " We wound him " unaccented, be-
cause implied in the idea of " shroud. " The tones ia
these lines should be risings to carry on the attention to
the leading fact of the sentence predicated in the next
lines.

iS. ** But I he lay | like a vrarrior taking his rest^
With his martial cloak \ around him."

" But" separately accented, because it does not refer to
*' he lay, " which is of course implied in the idea of the
dead warrior. To connect " but" with " he lay" would
indicate the opposition to be,

** But he lay, " (instead of being in some other attitude.)

"The reference is rather

CIn '* no coffin " or " shroud. ") *' but " in *' his martial cloak."

In the simile that follows, no accent on " warrior, " be-
►cause he wcis a warrior, and not merely was " like " one.
The principal emphasis of the whole stanza lies on "rest,"
ivhich suggests the antithesis,

(As if) ** taking his rest" (and not with the aspect of death.)

In the next line, the principal accent on " cloak ; "
" martial " being implied, unless intended contrast could
be supposed between his " martial " and some other
*cloak ; and " around him " being included in the idea of
^ warrior taking rest in his cloak.

I p. " jFew I and skori \ were the prayers | we said,
And we spoke not | a word of sorrow. "

The principal accent in the first line will be on the suS-
Ject " prayers, " but the two predicates " were few, and
short, " are also accented, because all the ideas are new ;
the predicates are subordinate to the subject only because
the latter is placed last. Had the arrangement been re-
versed, the principal accent would have fallen on the sec-
ond predicate " short." Thus : —

** The prayers we said were few and short, "

No accent on '' we said, " because implied in the nature
of " prayers, " imless intended contrast could be supposed
l)etween ''said" and r^a«/^fl?, or otherwise uttered. In

EMPHASIS. 141

the next line " spoke*' being involved in " said, " will,
be unaccented, unless the antithesis be suggested,

** We spoke not " (though we had the feeling) "of sorrow ; '*

and " word " being involved in *' spoke, " will be unac-
cented, unless the antithesis be suggested,

(So far from making an oration) ** we spoke not (even) a word."

"Not" must be united accentually with the word
" spoke, " as the negation refers to the verb, and not to
the object " a word. " To say

** We spoke | not a word,"

would be nonsense. " Sorrow, " will be accented, un-
less either of the preceding words is emphasized ; in the
latter case "sorrow," would be unemphatic, because-
"spoke not (even) a word^* would imply " of sorrow"
as the feeling natural to the occasion.

20. '*But I we I steadfastly | gazed \ on the face of the dead,.

And I we bitterly thought I of the morrow. "

The first four words will be separately pronounced, with
the emphatic force on "gazed," which should have a
falling turn because it completes the sense. "But " is sep-
arated from " we" because it does not connect that with
any other pronoun, but joins "spoke" with "gazed."*
The pronoun, adverb, and verb, might be united in one
accentual group, but such an utterance of this clause
w^ould be too light and flippant for the solemnity' of
the sentiment. " On the face " without emphasis, as
no contrast can be intended between face and any other
part of the body; "of the dead" unemphatic, because
implied. In the next line " and " should have a sepa-
rate accent ; " we bitterly thought" may be united, with
the accent on the adverb ; " thought" being implied in
the " steadfast gazing" of thinking beings. In the last
clause "morrow" will be accented, because it intro-
duces a new idea.

21 . ** We thought I as we hollowed his narrow bed,

And smoothed down his lonely pillow, |
That the foe | and the stranger | would tread o'er his head,.
And vje \ far away \ on the billow. "

142 EMPHASIS.

No emphasis in the first two lines, " we thought " hav-
ing been already stated, and "as we hollowed and
smoothed," &c., being implied in the making of a grave.
The grammatical sentence is, '' we thought that the foe,"
.&c. '' Foe " and '' stranger " are accented, but not em-
phatic, as there can be no antithesis. Treading on the
grave, whether by friend or foe, would be equally repug-
nant to the speaker's feelings. The emphasis of the
sentence therefore lies on "tread." The next clause
must be unemphatic, as there can be no antithesis in-
tended to "o'er" or "his" or between "head" and
any other part of the body. " And we " will have the
pronoun accented, because opposed to " foe," &c. ; "far
away " will have the adverb accented because suggesting

**Far away" (and not here to prevent the indignity.)

The meaning is not " away on the billow " but " away "
no matter where; and "on the billow" is merely ex-
pletive.

22. ** But half\ of our heavy task | was done |

When the clock | struck the hour | for retiring, "

Accent on " half" to suggest

" But half" (and not the whole.)

^' Heavy" and "done" may be accei^ted but not em-
phatic. In the second line the emphatic force must fall
on the expressive complement of the predicate, " for re-
tiring, " because suggesting the antithesis,

** For retiring" (and not indulging longer in our reverie.)

23. "And we heard | the distant | and random gun —

That th^ foe \ was sullenly firing. "

The first clauses unemphatic, because implied in " the
clock struck," which of course was also " heard. " The
emphasis of this line lies on " gun, " which is antithetic
to " clock." In the last line " foe " is emphatic, because
antithetic to friend^ understood as giving the sigpial for
" retiring."

24. ^* Slowly I and sadly \ we laid him down

From the field of his fame | fresh | and^^^r^."

In this sentence the subject " we," the predicate " laid
him down," and the expletive clause " from the field of

EMPHASIS. 143

his fame," are all implied in the occasion, and the ac-
cents fall on " slowly" and "sadly," and on 'Afresh
and gory," which latter are complements of the object
"him." The principal accent is on "gory" as the
stronger of the two adjectives. The predicate includes
all the words " laid him down from the field of his fame,"
which must be connectively read. A falling termination
is necessary to disconnect the last clause from " fresh
and gory," which would otherwise seem to refer to
"field" or "fame. "

25. ** We carved not | a line, \ and we raised not | a stones

But I "we left him | alone \ with his g-lory"

The accents in the first line will fall on "line" and
*' stone." The negatives must not be united with the
objects but with the verbs. To read,

"We carved | not a line"

would be nonsense. In the second line "but" should
be separately pronounced, because it does not refer to
" we left him " which is implied as a matter of course,
for even if they had raised a monument to mark the spot,
they would equally have " left him." The meaning is
equivalent to

** We left him " (with no monumental tablet or cairn, but)
••alone with his glory."

The last are therefore the new and accented words.

26. " Lightly I they'll talk | of the spirit that's gone,

The emphasis in the first line falls on " lightly " — the
expressive complement of the common-place predicate
" will talk," — antithesis being implied. Thus,

** Lightly" (and not reverently as he deserves.)

The subject " they " is used in the general sense of
" people " and is unaccented ; " of the spirit that's gone"
is implied in connection With the subject of the poem.
" And " in the second line, must be separate, to discon-
nect it from the expletive clause that follows; "up-

144 EMPHASIS REPETITIONS.

braid " will be emphatic, as contrasted with the previous
predicate,

(Not only) " talk lightly " (but even) ** upbraid."

" But" in the third line, must be separate, to show the
sense " notwitlistanding " (these facts.) " Nothing he'll
reck, " the first word accented, but the principal em-
phasis on " he'll " to suggest the antithesis,

**^tf'll reck nothing" (although we shall.)

The only other epiphasis is on " Briton, " which is sug-
gestive of an inference of pride in the nation whose
chivalry will defend the hero's name and mortal remains
from insult.

III. REPETITIONS.

27. The only exception to the rule that the emphatic
is always the new idea, is to be found in sentences which
contain a repetition of an idea previously expressed.
But the exception is more apparent than real, for the re-
peated word will generally be found to be suggestive of
an antithesis between the ordinary meaning and some
special acceptation of the word or phrase.

28. When the repetition includes a clause or a sen-
tence, and not a word merely, the emphasis will be shifted
to a different syllable at each repetition, or as often as
may be practicable. Thus in the following lines from
Dry den's Ode, " Alexander's Feast,"

Happy, happy, happy pair !
None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave
Deserves the fair.

In such cases as " happy, happy," &c., the accents can-
not be shifted, and variety must be given by change of
tone. Either of the following arrangements would be
effective.

"happy happy happy pair;" or

*' happy happy happy pair."

In such cases as " none but the brave," &c., where a

READING EXERCISES. 1 45

clause is repeated, the accent may be shifted to a different
syllable at each repetition. Thus,

None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave
Deserves the fair.

29. In the following series of short extracts the em-
phatic words are indicated to the eye in further illustration
of the Principle of Emphasis. [The student should ex-
ercise himself in discovering the contextual reasons for
the selection of the emphasized words, and also for the
non-selection of the other words.] Notations for Pitch
and Clause are introduced in these Exercises.

IV. READING EXERCISES.
Markxd for Emphasis, Clause, and Pitch.

ADULATION. —Pope.

'At this — entranced — he lifts his hands and eyes —

Squeaks like a high-stretched /»/«- string — and replies : —

**' O, 'tis the stveetest — of all earthly things—

To gaze on princes — and to talk of kingy /" —

*Tken — happy man who shows the tombs ! — said I —

*He dwells amidst the royal family ; —

He — every day — from king to king" can walk —

Of all our Harrys — all our Edwards talk—

And get — ^"by speaking trutA of monarchs dead —

*What few can of the living— 'ease — and bread.

age's sorrow. — Byron,

^What is the ivorst—oiyroQ^ that wait on age f —
'What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow ? —
^To view each loved one — blotted from life's page —
'And be alone on earth — ^as /am now.

ANTiqUARIAN RAPTURE. — Toung.

*How his eyes languish — how his thoughts adore . . .
That painted coat — ^which Joseph never wore I
'He shows — on holidays — a sacred fin —
*That touched the ruff--^ that touched Queen Bes^s chin I

146 READING BXBRCISBS.

BATTLE ALARM. — Byron.

*Did ye not hear it? — ^^o — 'twas but the wiurf—
Or the car rattling o'er the stony street ; —

*0» with the dance! — let joy be unconfined; —

"No sleep till morn — when youth and pleasure meet —
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet —

•But hark! — that heavy sound breaks in once more —
*A8 if the clouds its echo would repeat —

*And m^af^r, — clearer, — deadlier than before I

*Arm! — arm!— it is — it is the cannon's opening roar!

BATTLE ARRAY. — Byron.

— *It is a splendid sight — 'to see —
•For one who hath no friend, no brother there —
Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery —
Their various arms that glitter in the air! —
^}ci9X gallant war-hounds — rouse them from their lair,
• And gnash their fangs — loud yelling for the prey! —
'-<4//join the chase- but^^w — the triumph share; —
•The grave— %h.2L}X bear the chief est prize away —
•And Havoc— '•scarce for ioy can number their array.

BEAUTY. — Hunt.

^What is beauty / — 'not the show

Of shapely limbs 2ind features ; — no; —

•These are hut^owers -■-

That have their dated hours —
To breathe their transitory sweets — then go»

**Tis the stainless soul within —

That outshines the fairest skin —
And yields delights outlasting beauty's glow.

BEREAVEMENT. — Campbell.

^Hushed vrere his Gertrude's lips; — but still — their bland
And beautiful expressionr-^seemed to melt
With love that could not die ! — 'and still — his hand
She presses— to the heart no more that felt.
*Ahf heart— where once each /tf«</ affection dwelt—
And features— yet that spoke a soul — more fair! —
•Mute —gazing — ^agonising sts he knelt.
•Of them that stood encircling his despair —
He . . . heard some friendly words — but — ^knetv not what they
were.

CLAIMS OF KINDRED. — iSc0//.

•The slovj'YiOMXid — wakes \hefoxs lair —
The ^tf^-hound — presses on the hare —
The «rt^/^— pounces on the lamb —
The w<?//^devour8 the fleecy dam;

READING EXERCISES. 1 47

■•Even tifrer fell— and sullen hear —
Their likeness and their lineage — spare: —
Man only — mars kind Nature's plan —
And turns his fierce pursuits — on man.

CONSTANCY. — Campbell,

•Thought ye — your iron hands of pride —
Could break — the knot that love had tied?
iVb— Met the eagle change his plume —
The lea/its hue — the /lower its bloom;
*But — ties around this keart were spun —
*That could not — would not be undone.

CONTEMPTUOUS FORTITUDE. — Byron,

■"Have I not had my brain seared— ray heart riven- —
Hopes sapped — name blighted— life's life— lied 9,ymy\
*And only not to desperation driven — «

Because — *not altogether of such clay —
As rots — into the souls of those whom I survey !

COURAGEOUS HKVILXT.—Moore.

*The minstrel^// — *but — the foeman's chain —

Could not bring his proud soul under; —
The harp he loved — ne*er spoke again —

For — *ne fore its chords asunder —
*And said — ** ^No chains — shall sully thee —

*Thou soul of love and bravery! —
Thy songs were made for the pure and free —

They shall never — sound in slavery ! "

COURTIERS. — Wolcot.

^Low at his feet— the spaniel courtiers cower —

Curl — wheedle — whine — paw — lick his shoe — ior power:

•Prepared for every insult — servile train —

To take a kicking — and to fawn again,

COWARDLY SURRENDER. — Butler,

•*Tis not the least disparagement —
To be defeated by the event —
Nor to be beaten bv vazXn force —
*That does not make a man the worse : —
But — to Hurn tail and run away —
*And without blows give up the day —
Or to surrender ere the assault —
That's no m?in*% fortune — ""but his fault.

148 READING EXERCISES.

DEFIANCE . — Scoit,

'His back — against a rock he bore —
And — firmly placed his foot before : —
***Come one, — come all! — *thi8 rock — shall fly
. From its firm base— as soon as /."

DESPAIR.— J?yro«.

'Loud sung the tvtnd above — and doubly loud —
Shook o*er his turret-cell the thunder cloud —
^Kxid flashed the lightning by the latticed bar-
To him — more genial than the midnight star,
^ Close to the glimmering grate — he dragged his chain —
'And hoped— that peril — might not prove in vain.
*He raised his ironed hand to heaven — and prayed
One pitying flash— to mar the form it made : —
'His chains and impious prayer— attract alike —
The storm rolled onward— 9Si^ disdained to strike ; —
^ts peal waxed faintero^'ceased — ''he felt alone^
^As if some faithless /r/>«</ had spurned his g^oan !

DESPERATE CONFLICT. — Byron,

***One effort — one — to break the circling host!"
They form — unite— '*r>Jar^«/r\'waver/r\'all is lost I
*Witnin a narrower ring compressed — beset —
'Hopeless — not heartless — '•strive and struggle yet !
'Ah ! — now they fight in firmest file no more —
Hemmed in — cut off— cleft down — and trampled o^^t\ —
*But — each strikes singly — silently — and home —
'And sinks outwearied — rather than overcome : —
'His last— faint quittance — rendering with his breath —
Till^rsthe blade glimmers in the grasp of death,

ERROR. — Prior,

"When people once are in the wrong —
*Each line they add — is much too long;
^Who fastest walks — but walks astray —
*I8 only farthest from his way.

VAMJL,— Byron.

^What is the end— of fame /— "tis but— to fill

A certain portion of uncertain paper : —
'Some — liken it to climbing up a hill —

Whose summit — like all hills — is lost in vafour,
*For this — men write — speak — preach — and heroes kill—

And hards — burn what thej^ call their •* midnight taper"-
To have — when the original is dust —

A name—Vi wretched picture — and worse bust.

READING EXERCISES. 1 49

GREED OF PRAISE. — Goldsmith,

■*Of praise a mere glutton — he swallowed what came —
*And— the puff of a dunce— \iQ miscounted for fame —
•Till — his relish grown callous almost to disease —
*Who peppered the highest— was surest to please.

HOPE PERSONIFIED. — ColUnS,

^But thou— O Hope— with, eyes so fair —

What was thy delighted measure? —

'Still — it yrhx^i^Ttd promised pleasure —
And bade the lovely scenes — at distance hail !

'Still would her touch the strain prolong —
And— from the rocks— the woods— the vale —

*She called on -ffcio— still— through all her song —
'And — ^where her sweetest theme she chose —
A soft responsive voice /tn was heard — at every close —
■•And Hope enchanted—smiled — and waved her golden hair.

HUMAN ENJOYMENTS. — Pope.

•Behold the child— by Nature's kindly law •
Pleased with a rattle — tickled with a straw; —
*Some livelier plaything— gives his youth delight—
•A little louder— but as empty quite;—
^Scarfs — garters— ^oW— amuse his riper stage ;
^And beads and prayer-hooks — are the toys of age; —
"Pleased with this bauble still — as that before —
Till — tired— he sleeps /tn and life's poor play — is o*er,

HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. — Pope,

'When the proud steed— shM hnow — *why — man restrains

His fiery course — or drives him o*er the plains ; —

'When the dull ox — ^"why now he breaks the clod —

Is now a victim — and now — Egypt's god; —

*Then — shall man*s pride and dulness— comprehend

His actions' — passions' — being's— use and end ;

*Why doing— suffering;— checked— impelled; — ^*and why —

This hour a slave — the next — a deity.

HUNTING.— G^«y.

'The jocund thunder— wakes the enlivened hounds—
They rouse from sleep — *and answer— sounds for sounds; —
"The tuneful noise the sprightly courser hears —
^Paivs the green turf— and pricks his trembling ears : —
'The slackened rein — now gives him all his speed —
^Back flies the rapid ground beneath the steed ; —
Hills — dales — and forests— ^r behind remain —
^While the warm scent— draws on the deep-mouthed train.

150 READING EXERCISES.

INDIGNATION. — Wolcot,

^Ungrateful scoundrels ! — 'eat my rolls and butter—
*And daring thus their insolences mutter I —
•Swallow my turtle and my beef by pounds —
And tear my ven'son like a pack of hounds—
* Yet have the impudence — the brazen face —
To say — I am not fitted for the place I

KING LEAR. — Hood,

* A poor — old — king, — with sorrow for my crown, —

Throned upon straw— 2ind mantled with the wind —

For pity— my own tears have made me blind —

*That I might never see— my children* s frown ;

'And maybe — madness — like a friend— has thrown

A folded fillet over my dark mind —

'So that unkindly speech— may sound— for hind: —

'Albeit — I know not.— I am childish grown —

And have not go\d—to purchase wit withal —

*I — that have once maintained most royal state —

A very bankrupt now — 'that may not call

My child— my child ! — *all beggared — *save in tears —

•Wherewith I daily weep an old man's fate —

Foolish — ^and blind— and overcome with years.

LANDING OF AN ARMY. — Scoti,

■It was a dread — ^yet 5i>iW/-stirring sight ! —

*The hi\\oyv%— foamed beneath a thousand oars ; —

'Fast as they land— the red-cross ranks unite —

Legions on legions brightening all the shores.

*Then banners rise — and cannon-signB.! roars ; —

Then peals the warlike thunder of the drum —

Thrills the loud fife— the trumpet — flourish pours-

*And patriot hopes awake— and doubts — are dumb —

For— bold in Freedom* s cause — the bands of Ocean— come;

LAW.— P<?/c.

"Once — 'says an nuthor— where I need not say —
Two travellers— found an oyster in their way :
*Both fierce— both hungry — the dispute grew strong —
•While— scale in hand— Dame y«5//c«— passed along.
Before her — ^each with clamour pleads the laws —
Explained the matter— and would win the cause.
•Dame Justice— weighing long the doubtful right —
Takes— opens /rs ^swallows it before their sight/cs
*The cause of strife— removed so rarely well —
** There- -take—** says Justice — " take you each— a shell;'^
*We thrive at Westminster — on fools like you — •
Twas a/a/ oyster— *live in peace^adieu,**

READING EXERCISES. I51

LEADERSHIP. ^ByrOH*

•What is that jrlJe//— that— with commanding art —
Still dazzles — leads — yet chills the vulgar heart?
What should it be — that thus men*8 /ailh can bind?/TN
*The power of thought — the magic of the mind !
This — with success— tissuvaed and kept with skill —
^Moulds ever — human weakness to its will.
"Such hath it h^^n— shall be— beneath the sun : —
The fnany — still must labour for the one !
*Tis Nature's doom :/TN*but— let the wretch who toils —
Accuse not — hate not — him who wears the spoils I
'Oh! — if he knew—the weight of splendid chains —
'How light — the balance o\ his humbler pains !

MISDIRECTED EFFORTS. — Stvift.

*Brutes — find out where their talents lie : —
*A bear — will not attempt tofiy; —
A foundered horse — ^will oft debate
Before he tries a five-barred gate ;
A dog — by instinct turns aside —
Who sees the ditch too deep and wide : —
*But man — we find the only creature—
Who — led by folly — combats nature—
And — Vhere his genius least inclines —
^Absurdly — bends his whole designs.

MISFORTUNES. — Touug,

"Oh 1 mortals— 5^or/ of sight— who think — the past
O'erblown misfortune— still shall prove the last : —
'Alas ! — misfortunes travel in a train —
And oft in life form one perpetual chain.
^Fear buries fear — and ills on ills attend —
Till — *life and sorrow — meet one common end.

MUSIC AND LANGUAGE.— 3/<?(?rc.

* Music //^N oh I — 'how faint — how weak —

Language— fades before thy spell ! —
*Why should feeling ever speak —

*When thou canst breathe her soul so well ?
^Friendship's balmy words — mviy feign —

*L<fve*s—&re even more false than they; —
'Oh! — *tis only — ^music's strain —

'Can sweetly soothe — ^and not betray !

OUTCRY. — Pope.

Then flashed the living lightning from her eyes —
*And screams of horror rend the affrighted skies —

152 READING EXERCISES.

"Not louder shrieks to pitjring heaven are cast —
*When husbands — *or wlien lap-dogs breathe their last-
Or — when rich ckina vessels — fallen from high —
In glittering dust and ip2iint&d fragments lie.

PATRIOTIC RBSOLVS. — Campbell.

*Oh ! Heaven! — he cried — my bleeding country save!
Is there no hand on high— to shield the brave ?/t\
"Yet — though destruction sweep these lovely plains —
*Rtse — fellow m^«/— our country yet remains ! —
•By that dread name — we. wave the sword on high —
*And swear /tn for her to live—w*/^ her — to die*

PEASANT LIFE. — Goldsmith,

^III fares the land— to hastening ills a prey —
■Where wealth accumulates — 'and men— decay; —
'Princes and lords — may flourish or m^y fade —
A breath can make them— as a breath hath made ; —
*But— a bold peasantry— \hQ\r country's pride —
When once destroyed — *can never be supplied.

POWER OF MV^lC—Pope.

•By music — minds— an equal temper know —

Nor swell too high— nor sink too low :

*If— in the hresLBt— tumultuous joys arise —

•Music — her soft assuasive voice applies ; —

•Or — ^when the soul is pressed with cares —

Mxalts her — in enlivening airs.

^Warriors— sYiQjires with animated sounds —

•Pours balm - into the bleeding /^^t/^r's wounds :—

^Melancholy— Wits her head —

Morpheus — rouses from his bed—

Sloth — unfolds her arms and wakes —

^Listening Mnvy— drops her snakes.

•Intestine wars— no more— omx passions wage —

And giddy factions — hear away their rage.

PRECEDENTS. — Cowper.

*To follow foolish precedents — and winh
With both our eyes — Ms easier — than to thinh.

RETROSPECTION. — Moore.

^As — slow — our ship — her foamy track
Against the wind was cleaving —

Her trembling pennant — still looked back —
To that dear land 'twas leaving—

READING BXERCISES. 1 53

*So — loath we part from all we love —

From all the links that bind us —
So turn our hearts — ivhere^er we rove —

^o those we've left behind us.

SBCOND-HAND FAMB.— Young.

'He stands for fame — on his forefathers'' feet — •
By . . . ^heraldry — proved valiant or discreet I

SEPARATION. — Moore.

'A boat — 'at midnight sent alone —

To drift upon the moonless sea —
*A lute — *whose leading chord is gone —
'A wounded bird — 'that hath but one
Imperfect wing — to feoar upon —

*Are like ^rs Vhat / am— 'without thee,

SHIPWRECK. —Byron,

'^hen rose from sea to sky — the wild farewell —

'^hen j>lri>it«</ the timid— and stood still — the brave—

"Then some leaped overboard— YtxXki dreadful yell —
'As eager to anticipate their grave —

'And the sea ^rtw«c</ around her— like a hell —

And down she sucked with her the whirling wave —

*Like one who grapples with his enemy —

And strives to strangle him— before ... he die.

'And first — 'one universal shriek there rushed —

'Louder than the loud ocean— like a crash
Of echoing thunder— ^and then /r\ all ^^n Vas hushed —

'Save the wild wind — and the remorseless dash
Of billows ; — ''but ^s at intervals /rv there gushed—

Accompanied with a convulsive splash —
'A solitary shriek — the bubbling cry
Of some strong swimmer— in his agony.

SLKKFl— Byron,

There lie — love*s feverish hope — and cunning's guile —

Hate's working brain— and lulled ambition's wile;—

'0*er each vain eye—*oblivion's pinions wave—

And quenched existence — crouches in a grave,

'What better name— may slumber's bed become?

Night's sepulchre— the universal home —

"Where weakness— strength-vice— virtue— sunk supine —

*Alihe— in naked helplessness recline ; —

* Glad— for awhile to heave unconscious breath —

'Yet wake — to wrestle with the dread of death. —

^And shun — though day but dawn on ills increased —

That sleep— the loveliestsincQ it dreams the least.

154 RBADING EXERCISES.

SOLITUDE. — Byron.

To sit on rocks — to muse o*er flood and fell —

To slowlj' trace the /ores fs shady scene —

Where things that own not man*s dominion — dwell —

And mortal foot hath ne'er — or rarely been ; —

To climb the trackless mountain — all unseen —

'With the wild flock that never needs a fold ; —

Alone— o'er steeps and foamingy«//5 to lean ; —

^This—\^ not solitude ;—**ti% but to hold

Converse with nature's charms — and view her stores unrolled*

^But— midst the crowd^the hum — the shock of men —
To hear— to see— to feel— and to possess —
'And roam along — the world's //V^rr/ denizen —
•With none who bless us— none whom tve can bless —
^Minions o^ splendour — shrinking- from distress I
'None — that — with kindred consciousness endued —
*If we were not — would seem to smile the less —
'Of rt//—that^«//er«</— followed —sought and sued—
*This — is to be alone \—ih\% — this — is solitude.

SOUNDS OP AN ARMY. — MoOre.

•Hearken ! — what discords now, — of ever^ kind

*SAoutSt laughs, and screams —are revelling in the wind ! —

*The neigk of cavalry — the tinkling throngs

Of laden camels — and their drivers'>s^«^5; —

^Ringing of arms — and flapping in the breeze —

Of streamers from ten thousand canopies ; —

^^?iT'music — ^bursting out from time to time —

*With gong and tymbalon's tremendous chime ; —

•Or — in the pause, — when harsher sounds are mute —

"The mellow breathings of some korn — or flute —

That — far off— *broken by the eagle note

Of the directing trumfet — ' swell and float.

SOUNDS OF MORNING. — Beattie.

The melodies — of morning — ^who can telUf7\

The wild brook — babbling down the mountain's side —

The lowing kerd—\.h& sheepfold's simple bell—

The pipe of early shepherd— dim descried

In the lone valley; — ^echoing far and wide —

The clamorous korn — along the cliffs above ; —

The hollow murmur— of the ocean tide ; —

The hum— of ^^^5— 'the linnefs lay of love —

*And the^// choir— that wakes the universal grove.

STANDARDS OF CHARACTER. — Pope.

*Ti8 from kigk life— high characters are drawn : —
'A saint — in crape ^\^ twice a saint — in lawn; —

READING EXERCISES. I55

Pl judge — IS just; — a chancellor — juster still; —

K gotvnman — learn* d; — *a bishop — what you 'will;t^s

^ Wise — if a minister; — but — *if a hing —

More wise— more learn'd — more just — ^*more . . . everything*

STILLNESS.— Scott.

^he wind — breathed soft as lover's sigh —
'And — oft renewed— seemed oft— to die —

With breathless pause between.
''O, — who — with speech of war and woes —
Would wish to break — the soft repose —

^Of such enchanting scene I

THE HUNTED DKILK.—Scott.

*As chief— who hears his warder call —

**• To arms! — the foemen storm the wall !" —

The antlered monarch of the waste — .

*Sprung from his heathery couch in haste.

*But — ere his fleet career he took —

The ^ew-drops from his flanks he shook —

'A TCiOTCitni gazed— 2idoyfn the vale —

A moment— snuffed the tainted gale —

A moment listened ^t\ \o the cry

That thickened as the chace drew nigh —

*Then — as the headmost foes appeared —

*With one brave bound — the copse he cleared.

THE PASSING CHACE. — Scott,

*Their peal— the merry horns rung out —
*A hundred voices— \o\nt,di the shout; —
■With hark and whoop and wild halloo —
*No rest — the mountain echoes knew.
^Far from the tumult— fled the roe—
^ Close in her covert — cowered the doe; —
*The falcon — from her cairn on high
Cast on the rout a wondering eye —
Till — far beyond her piercing ken —
The hurricane had swept the glen.
^Faint — and more faint— its failing din —
'Returned— from cavern, cliff, and linn ; —
*And silence /r\ 'settled— wide and still —
'On the lone wood and mighty hill.

WISE ACRE s. —Jfy/'ow .

*Of all the horrid^ — hideous notes of woe —
'Sadder than owl songs on the midnight blast —

'Is that portentous phrase — ■"• I told yon so" —

'Uttered by . . . friends— those prophets of the past —

156 EMPHASIS — RESUME.

Who — 'stead of saying what you notu should do —

*Own — \.\i^y foresaw — that you would fall at last —
*And solace your slight lapse 'gainst " bonos mores " —
With a long memorandum of old stories.

YOUTH.— Gr«y.

'Fair — laughs the morn — and soft — the zephyr blows —

While— proudly riding o*er the azure realm —

In gallant trim — the gilded vessel goes —

*Touth on the prow— and Pleasure at the helm ; —

^Regardless — of the sweeping 'whirlwind's sway —

*That — hushed in grim repose — expects his evening prey.

V. RESUME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SENTENTIAL
ACCENT OR EMPHASIS.

44. I. All words expressive of ideas new to the con-
text, are emphatic. II. Words used in contrast to a pre-
ceding term are emphatic in a stronger degree. III.
All words suggestive of unexpressed antithesis are em-
phatic in the strongest degree. IV. Words which are of
necessity implied^ or the idea conveyed by which has
been included in former expressions, explanatory terms,
and repeated' words — not suggesting a special^ in oppo-
sition to their ordinary, acceptation — are unemphatic.

45. The following passages which have been selected
for their unusual difficulty of emphasizing, — should be
carefully studied. Read each extract three times ; at the
first reading insert a pencil dot below the accented syl-
lable of the words selected for emphasis ; at the second
reading, draw a short line below the emphatic syllables ;
and at the third reading underline the whole of each em-
phatic word. An examination can then be made pf the
differences of marking at the various readings, and the
reasons revolved on which words have been rejected or
approved. Afterwards, but not before, compare with
the KEY, appended to the Extracts.

SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. 1$^

VI. PASSAGES FOR EXERCISE IN THE SELECTION

OF EMPHATIC WORDS.

ANECDOTE. — Fuller,

The Sidonian servants agreed amongst themselves to choose
him to be their king who that morning should first see the sun.
Whilst all others were gazing on the east, one alone looked on
the west ; some admired, more mocked him, as if he looked on
the feet to find the eye of the face. But he first of all discovered
the light of the sun shining on the tops of the houses. God is
seen sooner, easier, clearer, in his operations than in his essence ;.
best beheld by reflection in his creatures.

BLINDNESS. — MtltOfi .

When I consider how mj light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He, returning, chide ; —
•*Doth God exact day-labour, light denied.^"

I fondly ask : but Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, ** God doth not need

Either man's work, or His own gifts ; who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state
Is kingly ; thousands at His bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest ;

They also s^rve who only stand and wait."

CHEERFUL PIETY. — * * Private Life. "

The cultivation of cheerfulness is not sufficiently considered as
forming part of the duty of a Christian ; but it forms a verv ma-
terial part. It recommends religion to the world in general, and
gives a brightness and charm to domestic life. Piety, with her
skull and cross-bones, her haircloth, scourges, and tearful coun-
tenance, is a very repulsive personage; but Piety with her
gentle silver tones of kindness, her hand of helpfulness, her glad
smile, and eyes full of grateful hope fixed on Heaven, is attrac-
tive and beautiful. Cheerfulness ought to be one of the unfail-
ing attributes of Christian Piety.

CONSOLATION IN MISFORTUNE. — Lord North,

Voltaire gives an account of an unfortunate man, who had lost
a leg and an arm in one place ; had his nose cut off and his eyes
put out, in another; had been hung up and cut down, in a third ;
had been imprisoned by the Inquisition, and condemned to be
burnt, and at last found himself chained to the oar as a galley-
slave ; and who, nevertheless, consoled himself with saying,
" Thank God for all I have suffered ! I should not otherwise

158 SSLBCTION OP BMPHASIS.

have known the luxury of eating orange-chips and pistachio nuts
in the harbour of Constantinople."

CONTENTMENT. — Warwick,

There is no estate of life so happj in this world as to yield a
Christian the perfection of content, and ^-et there is no state of
life so wretched in this world, but a Christian must be content
with it. Though I have nothing that may give me a true con-
tent, yet I will learn to be truly contented here with what I have.
What care I, though I have not much } I have as much as I
desire, if I have as much as I want; I have as much as the most,
if I have as much as I desire.

COURTEOUSNESS. —Leightofi,

The roots of plants are hid under the ground, so that them-
selves are not seen, but they appear in their branches, and flowers,
and fruits, which argue there is a root and life in them : thus the
graces of the Spirit planted in the soul, though themselves in-
visible, yet discover their being and life, in the tract of a Chris-
tian's life, his words and actions, and the whole frame of his
carriage.

EQUALITY OF MEN. — Btskop Horne,

The different ranks and orders of mankind may be com-
pared to so many streams and rivers of running water. All pro-
ceed from an original, small and obscure; some spread wider,
travel over more countries, and make more noise in their pas-
sage than others ; but all tend alike to an ocean, where distinc-
tion ceases, and where the largest and most celebrated rivers
are equally lost, and absorbed with the smallest and most un-
known streams.

BllROR AND IGNORANCE.

It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors as his
knowledge. Mal-information is more hopeless than non-infor-
mation ; for error is always more busy than ignorance. Igno-
rance is a blank sheet, on which we may write ; but error is a
scribbled one, from which we must first erase. Ignorance is
contented to stand still with her back to the truth ; but error is
more presumptuous, and proceeds in the backward direction.
Ignorance has no light, but error follows a false one : the conse-
quence is, that error, when she retraces her footsteps, has farther
to go before she can arrive at the truth than ignorance.

EVIL SPEAKING. — Warivick.

It is not good to speak evil of all whom we know bad ; it is
worse to judge evil of any who may prove good. To speak ill
upon knowledge shows a want of charity ; to speak ill upon sus-
picion shows a want of honesty. To know evil of others, and
not speak it, is sometimes discretion ; to speak evil of others, and

SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. I59

not know it, is always dishonesty. He may be evil himself who
speaks good of others upon knowledge, but he can never be
good himself who speaks evil of others upon suspicion.

FAITHFUL PRAYER.

Friend, thou must trust in Him who trod before

The desolate path of life :

Must bear in meekness, as He meekly bore.

Sorrow, and pain, and strife.

Think how the Son of God

These thorny paths hath trod ;

Think how He longed to go.

Yet tarried out for thee, the appointed woe.

Think of His weariness in places dim.

Where no man comforted, or cared for Him.

Think of the blood-like sweat

With which His brow was wet.

Yet how He prayed, unaided and alone,

In that great agony — " Thy will be done !"

Friend ! do not thou despair,

Christ, from His heaven of heavens, will hear thy prayer.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. — Berkeley.

Nothing is more natural than to make the things we know, a
step towards those we do not know ; and to explain, or represent
things less familiar by others which are more so. We imagine
before we reflect, and we perceive by sense before we imagine ;
and of all our senses sight is the most clear, distinct, various,
agreeable, and comprehensive. Hence it is natural to assist the
intellect by the imagination, the imagination by sense, and the
other senses by sight. Hence figures, metaphors, and types.
We illustrate spiritual things by corporeal ; we substitute sounds
for thoughts, and written letters for sounds ; emblems, symbols
and hieroglyphics, for things too obscure to strike, and too vari-
ous or too fleeting to be retained. We substitute things imagi-
nable for things intelligible; sensible things for imaginable,
smaller things for those that are too great to comprehend easily,
and greater things for such as are too small to be discerned dis-
tinctly ; present things for absent, permanent for perishing, and
visible for invisible.

FLOWERS. — Mary Howitt.

God might have bade the earth bring ^orth enough for great

and small.
The oak tree and the cedar tree, without a flower at all.
The ore within the mountain mine requireth none to grow;
Nor doth it need the lotus flower to make the river flow.
The clouds might give abundant rain, the nightly dews might fall,
And the herb that keepeth life in man might yet have drunk

them all ;

l6o SELECTION OF EMPHASIS.

Our outward life requires them not : then wherefore had they

birth?
To minister delight to man, — to beautify the earth, —
To whisper hope, to. comfort man whene'er his faith is dim :
For who so careth for the flowers, will care much more for him.

FORGIVING DISPOSITION. — Sterne.

The brave only know how to forgive ; it is the most refined
and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at. Cow-
ards have done good and kind actions; cowards have even
fought, nay, sometimes even conquered : but a coward never for-
gave; it is not in his nature ; the power of doing it flows only
from a strength and greatness of soul, conscious of its own force
and security, and above the little temptations of resenting every
fruitless attempt to interrupt its happiness.

FRUITLESS RESOLUTIONS. — Toung.

At thirty, man suspects himself a fool ;
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan ;
At fifty, chides his infamous delay, —
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve ;
In all the magnanimity of thought.
Resolves, and re-resolves, then dies the same.

GRATEFUL RECOGNITION — ARGUS. — Po^e.

When wise Ulysses, — from his native coast.
Long kept by wars, and long by tempest tossed, —
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
To all his friends, and e'en his queen, unknown; —
Changed as he was, with age, and toils, and caret,
Furrowed his reverend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forced to ask his bread.
Scorned by those slaves his former bounty fed ;
Forgot of all his own domestic crew ; —
The faithful dog alone his rightful master knew.
Unfed, unhoused, neglected, on the clay.
Like an old servant now cashiered he lay ;
Touched with resentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
Him, when he saw, he rose, and crawled to meet, —
*Twas all he could — and fawned and kissed his feet —
Seized with dumb joy — then falling by his side.
Owned his returning lord, looked up, and died !

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM.

Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one,
Have oft-times no connection. Knowledge dwells
In heads replete with thoughts of other men ;
Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own.

SELECTION OP EMPHASIS l6l

Knowledge— a rude unprofitable mass,
The mere materials with which wisdom builds, —
Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place,
Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich :
Knowledge is proud, that he has learned so much;
Wisdom is humble, that he knows no more.

MAN. — King.
Like to the falling of a star.
Or as the flights of eagles are.
Or like the u-esh spring's gaudy hue.
Or silver drops of morning dew;
Or like a wind that chafes the flood.
Or bubbles which on water stood i
Even such is man, whose borrowed light
Is straight called in, and paid to night : —
The wind blows out, the bubble dies,
The Spring entombed in Autumn lies, —
The dew*s dried up, the star is shot.
The flight is past, and man forgot.

ON LITERARY EXTRACTS. — Willmott.

Johnson condemns the belief that a poet can be introduced to
a just reputation by select quotations ; and compares a critic
who should make the attempt, to the famous pedant in Hiero-
cles, who, when he wished to sell his house, carried a specimen
brick in his pocket. Such a sentiment was natural and appro-
priate upon the lips of an editor of a great dramatic poet ; but
that it did not extend to literary extracts, we know from Bos-
well, to whom Johnson often expressed his love of those little
volumes of" Beauties, " by which celebrated authors have been
recommended to the vulgar. A thousand persons will read a
page, who would never open a folio. A single flower may in-
duce a wanderer to visit the garden; a single bunch of grapes
may allure him into a land of promise.

POLITENESS. — Lord Chatham,
As to politeness, many have attempted its definition. I believe
it is best to be known by description ; definition not being able
to comprise it. I would, however, venture to call it benevo-
lence in trifles, or the preference of others to ourselves, in little,
daily, hourly occurrences in the commerce of life. A better
place, a more commodious seat, priority in being helped at table ;
what is it but sacrificing ourselves in such trifles to the conve-
nience and pleasure of others? And this constitutes true polite-
ness. Bowmg, ceremonies, formal compliments, stiff civilities,
will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied,
manly, noble. And what will give this — but a mind benevolent
and perpetually attentive to exert that amiable disposition
towards all you converse and live with? Benevolence in great
matters takes a higher name, and is the Qjueen of Virtue.
II

1 62 SELECTION OF EMPHASIS.

SELF-SATISFACTION. — Hare.

Thorwaldsen being found by a friend one day somewhat out
of spirits, was asked whether anything had occurred to distress
him ; he answered : " My genius is decaying. " ** What do j^ou
mean.?" said the visitor. ** Why, here is my statue of Christ ;
it is the first of my works that I have ever felt satisfied with.
Till now, my idea has always been far beyond what I could exe-
cute ; but it IS no longer so ; X shall never have a great idea again."

TEMPER. — " Private Life.'**

There are persons who, on the subject of temi>er, plead a sort
of prescriptive right to indulgence, on the ground of constitu-
tional infirmity, or hereditary entailment; but before such pleas
can be considered valid in the court of Conscience, let such per-
sons ask themselves, whether there are no circumstances suffi-
ciently powerful, whether there is no presence sufficiently august,
to awe them into self-control ; whether in certain moments of
their lives they have not found the most indignant feelings con-
trollable, the fiercest blaze of passion repressible ? If this be the
case— and experience will generally attest that it is so— the plea
of necessity falls to the ground ; for we should never forget that,
in every moment of our lives, we are in a Presence the most
august, under the vigilant observation of a Being, compared to
whose glance the gaze of an assembled world is powerless and
insignificant.

TO THE BUTTERFLY. — Rogers.

Child of the sun ! pursue thy rapturous flight,
Mingling with her thou lov^st in fields of light.
And where the flowers of paradise unfold.
Quaff fragrant nectar from their cups of gold :
There shall thy wings, rich as an evening sky.
Expand and shut with silent ecstasy.
Yet, wert thou once a worm, — a thing that crept
On the bare earth, then wrought a tomb, and slept.
And such is man ! soon from his cell of clay
To burst, a seraph, in the blaze of day.

TIME.

Time moveth not I our being 'tis that moves ;
And we, swift gliding down life's rapid stream.
Dream of swift ages, and revolving years,
Ordained to chronicle our passing days ;
So the young sailor, in the gallant bark
Scudding before the wind, beholds the coast
Receding from his eyes, and thinks the while.
Struck with amaze, that he is motionless.
And that the land is sailing.

SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. — KEY. 1 63

VEGETATION.

Say what impels, amidst surrounding snow
Congealed, the crocus* flaming bud to glow?
Say what retards, amidst the summer's blaze,
The autumnal bulb, till pale declining days?
The God of Seasons, whose pervading power
Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower;
He bids each flower his quickening word obey.
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay.

True wit is Nature to advantage dressed.

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed ;

Something whose truth, convinced at sight, we find.

That gives us back the image of our mind.

As shades more sweetly recommend the light,

So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit,

For works may have more wit than does them good,

As bodies perish through excess of blood.

46. KEY.

To THE Emphatic Words in the Foreooino Extracts.

1. Sidonian, agreed. King, Sun, one, west, mocked, feet, face,
tie, houses, God, his, reflection.

2. Light, half, hide, more, account, labour. Patience, need,
bear, they, kingly, thousands, ocean, also, stand.

3. Cheerfulness, duty, very, recommends, world, domestic,
cross, tearful, repulsive, kindness, hand, hope, beautiful, un-
iailing.

4. Voltaire, leg, arm, nose, eyes, up. Inquisition, burnt, galley,
consoled, thank, otherwise, pistachio, Constantinople.

5. No, happy, content, yet, wretched, must, give, learn, have,
much, desire, want, most.

6. Roots, hid, branches, flowers, fruits, is. Spirit, discover,
their, whole.

7. Orders, streams, all, obscure, noise, alike, ceases, cele-
brated, equally, un(known).

8. Almost, errors, hopeless, non-(information), busy, blank,
scribbled, erase, still, proceeds, no, false, consequence, farther,
ignorance.

9. Speak, know, judge, good, knowledge, charity, suspicion,
honesty, not, discretion, know, always, evil, never, suspicion.

10. Trust, before, bear, He, sorrow, God, longed, thee, weari-
ness, no. Him, blood, prayed. Thy, despair, hear.

11. Natural, know, not, less, more, imagine, reflect, sense,
sight, comprehensive, intellect, imagination, sense, other, sight,
figures, spiritual, corporeal, sounds, letters, hieroglyphics, ob-

164 SELECTION OF EMPHASIS. — KEY.

scure, retained, imaginable, intelligible, sensible, smaller, easily,
greater, distinctly, present, permanent, in-( visible).

12. Might, enough, flower, ore, river, dews, herb, all, outward,
not, wherefore, delight, beautify, hope, faith, so, more, him.

13. Brave, forgive, can, cowards, kind, fought, conquered,
never, nature, greatness, conscious, above, interrupt.

14. Thirty, suspects, fool, knows, forty, plan, fifty, chides,
resolve, thought, re-(resolves), dies.

15. Ulysses, long, tempest, arrived, queen, unknown, was,
bread, scorned, forgot, dog, knew, clay, resentment, longing,
when, crawled, kissed, falling, died.

16. One, connexion, knowledge, other, wisdom, own, knowl-
edge, materials, encumber, proud, wisdom, humble, more.

17. Star, eagles, spring's, dew, wind, bubbles, even, man, in,
night, out, bubble, autumn, dew*s, star, flight, forgot.

18. Johnson, condemns, poet, just, quotations, attempt, Hier-
ocles, house, brick, appropriate, editor, not, Boswell, love, beau-
ties, recommended, thousand, page, folio, flower, garden, grapes,
land.

19. Politeness, many, definition, description, able, benevo-
lence, trifles, others, place, commodious, helped, sacrificing,
constitutes, never, easy, manly, give, perpetually, all, great.
Queen.

20. Thorwaldsen, spirits, occurred, genius, mean, Christ, first,
satisfied, far, never.

21. Temper, indulgence, constitutional, valid, ask, no, control,
indignant, fiercest, if, is, ground, never, every, are, most, world,
insignificant.

22. Sun, pursue, lov'st, paradise, nectar, sky, ecstasy, wonxit
earth, man, his, seraph.

23. Time, not, being, dream, chronicle, sailor, receding, he,
motionless, land.

24. What, snow, crocus, retards, autumnal, God, controlt,
shower. He, lingering.

25. Wit, advantage, well, sight, our, shades, light, plainness,
good, blood.

Key to the Emphatic Words in ** Thunderstorm among the
Alps;' p. 82.

1. Such, night, wondrous, lovely, eye, far, thunder, one, every.
Jura, Alps.

2. Night, glorious, slumber, me, sharer, portion, shines,
phosphoric, rain, black, glee, shakes, earthquake's.

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION.

PART FIFTH.

LOOKS AND GESTURES.

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

1 . Vocal Expression, however perfect, fails to give
delivery its full impressiveness, if the face and whole
body do not sympathetically manifest the feeling which
vibrates in the tones. Nothing can be more spiritless
and unnatural than rigid stillness on the part of an ora-
tor. But the tendency to gesticulate is so natural, that
instruction will generally be needed rather to subdue and
chasten, than to create gesticulation. To a speaker of
any animation, the greatest difficulty is to stand still.

2. In the natural order of passionate expression, looks
are first, gestures second, and words last. " The
strongfelt passion bolts into the face " before it moves the
massier muscles of the trunk and limbs ; and its tardiest

-expression is in the artificial and conventional form of
' articulate language. Gesture which, thus, in strong emo-
tion precedes the words, in calmer feeling accompanies
them ; but it must never lag behind the utterance it illus-
trates.

II. EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE DIFFERENT FACIAL
AND BODILY MOTIONS.

3. The Features expand in pleasure and contract in
pain.

They are elongated in melancholy.
16s

1 66 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES.

They are smooth in placidity, and variously fur-
rowed in emotion.
They gi'in in folly.

4. The Eyebrows are lifted in surprise, in inquiry,
and in hope.

They are depressed in conviction, in authority, and

in despair.
They are knitted in sorrow, in solicitude, and in

anger.
They droop in weakness.

5. The Eyes beam in love, they sparkle in mirth, they
flash and roll in anger, they melt in grief.

They are raised in hope, and dejected in despond-
ency.

They measure their object from head to foot in
contempt.

They stare in wonder, and wink in cunning.

They are levelled in modesty, and cast downward
in shame.

They are restless in terror, in anxiety, and in idiocy.

They are fixed in confidence, in boldness, and in
energy.

They look askance in suspicion, and secrecy.

They are cast on vacancy in thought.

6. The Nostrils are relaxed in equanimity.
They are expanded and rigid in violent passions.
They quiver in excitement.

They are twitched up in disgust and contempt.

7. The Lips are drawn back and raised in delight and
mirth.

They are depressed and projected in pain, in sadness,
and grief.

The corners of the lips are curled upward in con-
tempt, and downward in disgust.

The lips are loose and sprawling in mental vacuity.

They are muscular and mobile in intellectuality.

They are firm in decision and energy.

They are relaxed in weakness and irresolution.

They are pouted in boasting, and in pettishness*

They are bitten in vexation and discomfiture.

They are compressed in agony.

EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 1 67

8. The Mouth is open in fear, in wonder, in listening,
in languor, and in desire.

It is shut in apathy, in pride, in boldness, and in

sullenness.
The jaw falls in melancholy.
The teeth are gnashed in anger.
The tongue is protruded in imbecility.

9. The Head is erect in courage and confidence.
It is crouched in fear.

It is thrown back in pride and self-conceit.

It hangs forward in humility.

It is protruded in curiosity, and in short-sightedness.

It lies to one side in bashfulness, in languor, or in

indolence.
It rolls or tosses in anger.
It shakes in denial, and in sadness.
It is jerked backward in invitation, forward in assent,

and to one side in boasting, in threatening, or in

dogmatism.

10. The Arms hang easily from the shoulders in grace.
They droop listlessly in weakness and in humility.
They are rigid in anger.

They are folded across the chest or placed a-kimbo in

self-complacence.
They are held forward in entreaty.
They are extended in welcome and in admiration.
They are raised in appeal or in expectancy.
They fall suddenly in disappointment.
They are drawn back in aversion.
They shrink and bend in terror.

1 1 . The Hands are open and relaxed in graceful calm-
ness.

They are rigidly expanded in fear or horror.

They are locked or clasped in emotion.

They are wrung in anguish and clenched in anger.

They are raised in supplication.

They descend slowly in blessing.

They fall with quiet vehemence in malediction or

threatening.
They are moved towards the body in invitation or in

egotism.

1 68 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES.

They are pushed from the body in rejection or dis-
missal.

They start in astonishment.

They wave or clap in joy or approbation.

The palms are turned upwards in candour or sin-
cerity, and downwards in concealment or cunning.

They are turned outwards in defence, in apprehen-
sion, or in aversion, and inwards in boldness or
confidence.

The hand on the forehead indicates pain, confusion,
or mental distress ; on the crown of the head, gid-
diness or delirium ; on the side of the head, stupor ;
on the eyes, shame or grief.

Both hands similarly applied intensify the expres-
sion.

The hand supporting the cheek expresses languor or
weariness; supporting the chin, meditation.

The hand laid on the breast appeals to conscience, or
indicates desire.

The hands crossed on the breast express meekness or
resignation.

The hand pressed on the upper part of the chest, or
beating it, expresses remorse, or acute bodily dis-
tress.

The hand on the lower part of the chest indicates
boldness or pride.

The back of one hand laid in the palm of the other
shows determination or obduracy.

The hands applied palm to palm express supplica-
tion.

The hands crossed palm to palm express resignation.
12. The Fingers are relaxed and slightly separated in
placidity.

They are rigidly separated in fear.

They are firmly bent in anger.

The forefinger directs attention to any object by
pointing ; with a falling motion of the hand it
reproves or warns ; applied successively to the
finger tips of the other hand, it enumerates.

Laid in the palm of the other hand, it specifies dog-
matically.

EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES. 169

The fingers of both hands loosely applied tips to tips
express accumulation or adjustment.

13. The Body held easily erect expresses courage and
resolution.

Held stiffly erect, it denotes pride, haughtiness, or
the assumption of dignity.

Thrown back, it indicates defiance.

Stooping forward, it denotes condescension, com-
passion, or humility.

Bending, it expresses respect, reverence, or saluta-
tion.

Prostrated, it denotes moral degradation or self-
loathing.

14. The Lower Limbs held straight and rigid indi-
cate self-conceit or obstinacy.

Relaxed and bent, tliey show timidity, awkwardness,

or frailty.
One limb slightly bent and the other straight, denote

graceful ease.
The limbs shake in terror.
They kneel in prayer.

15. The Feet pointing directly forward indicate boor-
ishness.

Turned inward, they suggest deformity.

Close together, they denote timidibr or awkwardness.

Separated by about the breadth of the foot, and with
one heel in advance of, and pointing towards, the
other heel, they show graceful ease.

The weight of the body supported on the retired foot
denotes dignity, dislike, or carelessness ; on the ad-
vanced foot, familiarity, attention, or sympathy.

Separated by about the length of the foot, with the
weight on the advanced foot, listening, appeal, or
attack ; with the weight on the retired foot, dis-
gust, horror, or defence; with the weight sup-
ported equally on both feet, pomposity or bluster.

Frequent change denotes mental disturbance.

Starting, sudden apprehension or violent surprise.

Stamping, harsh authority, impatience or determina-
tion.

170 EXPRESSIVENESS OF GESTURES.

Advancing steps show energy or boldness ; retiring,

alarm or fearfulness.
Light tiptoe steps express caution or secret intrusion ;

heavy, striding steps, boasting or bravado.

III. SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF
GESTICULATIVE EXPRESSION.

16. Motions towards the body indicate self-esteem,
egotism, or invitation ; from the body, command or re-
pulsion.

Expanding gestures express liberality, distribution, ac-
quiescence, or candour ; contracting gestures, frugality,
reserve or collection.

Rising motions denote suspension, climax or appeal ;.
falling motions, completion, declaration, or response.

A sudden stop in gesture expresses doubt, meditation
or listening ; a sudden movement, decision or discovery.

A broad and sweeping range of gesture illustrates a
general statement, or expresses boldness, freedom, and
self-possession ; a limited range denotes diffidence or con-
straint or illustrates a subordinate point.

Rigidity of muscles denotes firmness, strength, or effort ;
laxity, languor, or weakness ; slow motions are expres-
sive of gentleness, caution, or deliberation ; quick mo-
tions, of harshness or temerity.

IV. PRINCIPLES OF GRACE.

17. The eye should generally accompany the motions
of the hand ; but, in directing attention to any object, the
eye will first merely glance towards it, and then fix itself
on the person addressed, while the finger continues to
point.

18. The head must not lean from side to side, as the
gesture points ; nor must it rise and fall with the inflex-
ions of the voice ; it should be kept moderately, but not
rigidly, erect.

19. The motions of the arm must commence at the
shoulder joint, not at the elbow ; the upper part of the arm
should never rest in contact with the side.

GRACS IN GESTURE. 171

20. The motions of the arms should not be accompa*
nied by any action of the shoulders, or swaying of the
body. Thus, in projecting forward one arm, the oppo-
site shoulder must not retire ; or in raising one arm, the
Dpposite shoulder must not be depressed. The shoulders
should be kept square to the eye of the auditor, or to the
centre of the auditors. The habit of shrugging the
shoulders is ungraceful, and should be avoided.

21. A harmonious accompaniment of arm to arm,
is essential to graceful motion. When only one arm is
used in the gesture, the other should be brought into
action less prominently, and at a lower elevation. When
the gesticulating arm comes in front of, or across the
body, the retired arm falls a little behind ; and when the
gesture is backwards, the subordinate arm advances.
When the gesture is under the horizontal elevation, the
other arm may hang laxly by the side.

22. Every action of the arm should be terminated by
an accentual motion of the hand, from the wrist. In
calm and unimpassioned speaking, the accentual beat of
the gesture will coincide with the vocal accent ; in strong
emotion, the gesture will precede the words. The mo-
tions of the hand must be made entirely from the wrist
joint, which must therefore be held perfectly slack.

23. Every accentual motion must have a preparatory
movement in the opposite direction, more or less sweep-
ing, according to the nature and emphasis of the accen-
tual motion. A direct rise, fall, or lateral movement
would be ungraceful and unnatural. As we first bend
the body in order to leap up, and raise the hammer in
order to strike the nail, so we must carry the hand
towards the left, before a gesture to the right ; raise it
before a downward motion, and vice versa,

24. The line described by the hand in any motion must
be a curve — except in violent passion, when the rigidity
of the joints renders the line of motion straight and an-
gular. The graceful curve is obtained by turning the
hand freely upon its joint, keeping the wrist slack, and
the elbow detached from the side.

25. The fingers should always be somewhat apart^

172 GRACE IN GESTURE.

and the thumb considerably separated from the forefin-
;ger. The joints should be slack, and the fingers slightly
bent, but not beyond a gentle curve — except for partic-
ular expressiveness.

26. The vsreight of the body should generally be sus •
tained entirely by one foot ; and it should be shifted from
one to the other at every change of style or of subject.
The limb that does not support the vsreight of the body
should be slightly bent, and its foot should rest lightly,
-or only partially, on the floor.

27. Gesture is most graceful vsrith the right hand and
arm when the left foot is in advance, and with the left
hand when the right foot is in front. This preserves the
square of the body.

28. The feet should be generally separated about as
much as the breadth of the foot — the one in advance of
the other, with its heel pointing to the heel of the retired
foot. More extended positions will be occasionally re-
quired in expressive action. The angle at which the feet
stand should be about 75 degrees, unless in very extended
separations, — ^as in longeing, — ^when it may be increased
to 90 degrees. With ordinary extension, the angle of
:grace and stability cannot Exceed 75°.

29. The feet must not cross each other in any move-
ment. Their motions should always be in outward diag-
onal lines. A direct lateral or front extension of the feet
would be ungraceful. Even in walking, the left foot
must be moved towards the left, and the right towards
the right side.

30. In turning to one side, the body must not be twisted ;
but the motion should commence with the feet; and
the feet should not be lifted from the floor. The weight
of the body being on the forepart of the feet, a turn of
45° may be made by merely sliding the heels round ; and
the weight being on the heels, a turn of 90*^ may be made
by sliding round the forepart of the feet. These turns
can only be made to the side corresponding with the re-
tired foot. Thus : — when the right foot is in front,
turn to the left, and vice versa. In order to turn to the
other side, the advanced foot must first be drawn back, or
the retired foot advanced.

GRACE IN GESTURE. 17J

31 . In kneeling, bring that knee to the floor first which
is next to the ^spectator ; in rising, bring up the knee
which is farthest from him.

32. In making a bow, do not shuffle one foot back-
wards, or jerk the head forwards, but extend one foot
slightly to the side — the right foot to the right, or the left
to the left — and draw (not lift) the other in the same
direction, while you gracefully bend the body. The arms
must not adhere to the side, but depend freely from the
shoulders, limber as ropes.

33. In standing before a bar, or rail, or in a pulpit,
do not lounge on the frame, or even keep the hand on it
habitually ; but stand back sufficiently far to allow the
arm to rise and fall without touching the rail.

34. In holding a book, endeavour to do so with one
hand — ^generally the left ; but if the volume is too large
for one hand, let both hands sustain it equally by the
corners. In either case, let the plane of the book be as
nearly as possible horizontal — and do not hold it up be-
tween your face and your auditor's line of vision.

35. In sitting, do not draw the feet backwards under
the chair, but advance them, and keep the soles on the
floor, with as much variety of position as may be consist*
ent with grace and with the subject in hand.

V. RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE HAND AND ARM
IN MOTION.

36. The following illustrations exemplify a Principle
of the utmost simplicity and comprehensiveness; one
which in fact includes all that can be needed to secure
mechanical excellence in any movements of Hand and
Arm. The Principle is: — The Hand invariably
points in the opposite direction to that of the
Arm's motion.

37. The Hand, in rising or falling, must be al-
ways in one of two positions ; namely, with the edge,
or with the flat presented to the eye of the spectator*
Thus :—

174

GRACE IN GESTURE.

No. I.

Arm rising— Hand hangs downward.

Edge presented.

Flat presented.

No. II.
Arm falling— Hand points upwards.

Edge presented.

GRACE IN GESTURE.

175

38. Any movement to right or left with the hand on
edge is ungraceftil ; therefore : — The hand, in moving to
RIGHT or LEFT, must always have either the palm or
the back turned upwards. Thus : —

No. III.
Arm moving to right— Hand points to left.

Palm upwards. Back upwards.

No. IV.

Arm moving to left — Hand points to right.

Palm upwards.

Bazk upwards.

39. The principle exemplified in these illustrations
should be practised until its application becomes a habit
and requires no thought. The student is recommended,
at first, to divide each motion into two parts — stopping
at the end of the arm's motion before commencing that
of the hand. Thus : —

Rising Motion,

1. Raise arm from position No. i towards position
No. 2, while the hand remains pendent as in No. i.

2. Raise hand into position No. 2.

176 APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

Falling Motion.

1. Depress arm from position No. 2 towards position
No. I, while the hand continues to point upward.

2. Bring hand into position No. i.

Motion to Right,

1. Move arm from position No. 3 towards position
No. 4, while the hand continues pointing to left.

2. Move hand into position No. 4.

Motion to Left*

1. Move arm from position No. 4 towards position
No. 3, while the hand continues pointing to right.

2. Move hand into position No. 3.

40. After a few repetitions of these exercises, the
knack will be acquired of moving arm and hand sep-
arately — which is the essence of the Principle. The
whole of each movement should then be performed with-
out a break. Practise with each hand, alternately, and
with both hands, simultaneously, until facility is attained.

VI. APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

41. Inexpressive motions should always be avoided.
No gesture should be made without a reason for it ; and
when any position has been assumed, there should be no
change from it without a reason. The habit of allowing
the hands to fall to the side immediately after every
gesture, produces an ungraceftilly restless effect. The
speaker seems

** Awkward, embarrassed, stiff, without the skill
Of moving gracefully, or standing still. —
Blessed with all other requisites to please,
He wants the striking elegance of ease."

42. A speaker must not be constantly in motion.
Repose is a chief element of gesticulative effect Some
orators accompany every vocal accent by a bodily mo-
tion ; but the consequence is, that, gesticulate ever so
well, and be energetic as they may, they can produce no
effect — but that of mesmeric drowsiness. The monoto-
nous manipulations fatigue the eye, and rock the brain to

APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 1 77

slumber. A gesture that illustrates nothing is worse than
useless. It destroys the effect of really appropriate move-
ments. Perhaps the most difficult part of gesture is
gracefully to stand still. Let the speaker study this.

43. The FREQUENCY of gesturc will depend on the
variety of ideas and moods that occur in the language.
A uniform strain will require little gesture ; and a vari-
able, flighty, passionate strain will demand many gestures.

44. Gestures should not be used to picture ideas
which are sufficiently expressed — or implied — in lan-
guage. For example : —

'* The moon was shining bright and high,
The torches gleamed below."

*= Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered."

In these cases, the relations of **high," ''low," "right,"
" left," &c., are fully understood from the utterance of
the words, and gestic illustration of the same facts would
be tautology.

45. Gestures are either Directive, Illustrative, or
Emotive. Directive gestures carry the eye of the
spectator to the objects spoken of, which are either visi-
ble, supposed to be visible, or figuratively presented to
the " mind's eye." Directive gestures are most appro-
priate with language in the present tense. They are nee-
essary when the demonstrative words, Lot yon^ this^
that^ behold I &c., are used.

46. Directive gestures must be arranged with pictorial
accuracy. Thus, the hand and eye must be elevated in
pointing to the firmament, to mountains, and to near
objects above the speaker ; and depressed below the hori-
zontal elevation for rivers, and for near objects below
the level of the speaker's eye. They must be horizontal
in addressing persons around us, and in pointing to ob-
jects at a distance.

47. Directive gestures must be "suited" to the lan-
guage. Thus, in the following lines : —

* * 'Tis morn but scarce yon level sun

Can pierce the war-clouds rolling dun, " &c.
12

178 APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

** The sun has almost reached his journey's close," &c.

we must not point upwards to the sun ; for at " morn,"
and at his " journey's close," the sun must be near the
horizon. Thus, too, in the following : —

** His setting ushers-in a night to some,
Which morning shall not break."

Suppose the setting sun located on the speaker's rights
then "night" must be ushered in from his left ; 2i\\d
" morning" must not " break " on the right, but — op-
posite to where the sun set, — on the left.

48. Having located any fixed object by a directive ges-
ture, we must recur to the same point in again speaking
of it, or of any object associated with it without change
of scene. Thus in the following lines :

• * Scaling yonder peak,
I saw an eagle wheeling near its brow
O'er the abyss ; — his broad, expanded wings
Lay calm and motionless upon the air,
As if he floated there without their aid.
By the sole act of his unlorded will
That buoyed him proudly up. Instinctively
I bent my bow," &c.

If the " peak" be supposed on the speaker's left side,
the action of bending the bow must not be directed to
the right, but — towards the peak — to the left.

49. Illustrative gestures must be "suited" to the
idea or action they illustrate. Thus in the following
lines : —

* * By torch and trumpet-sound arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle blade,
And furious every charger neighed
To join the dreadful revelry ;"

the idea "arrayed" should be illustrated by a slow, hor-
izontal expansion of the arm, the hand flat and pointing
outwards, as if to the serried rank of soldiers ; at the
words " drew his battle blade," there may be an imita-
tive action,but if indulged in it must be correctly imitative ;
the right arm, in drawing the sword, must not be curved
backwards across the body, but drawn straight up, as
if it had a yard of steel behind it. The hand must be re-

APPLICATION OF GESTURE. 1 79

versed in taking hold of the hilt, and turned round when
the act of drawing the blade is completed, as if to elevate
the point in the air. The left hand — the " horseman's**
iDridle-hand, — must take no part in the action. In draw-
ing an infantry-^woTd the left hand grasps the scabbard ;
"but a cavalry-sword has a heavy scabbard to resist the
pull.

50. Shakespeare's admirable compendium of the
principles of gestic application —

" Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this
special observance, that 70U overstep not the modesty of nature I"

must not be so interpreted as to lead the speaker to aim
at illustrating individual words. " To the word,"
must be understood to mean, ** to the utterance."
The sort of imitative gesture, in which many orators in-
dulge at the mere mention of any word which is suscep-
tible of imitative illustration, is to be condemned, and
must not be allowed to plead a misinterpretation of Shake-
speare's rule as a justifying authority. Some speakers
carry the principle of suiting the action to the " word "
so far, that, if they would not imitate the sounding of a
trumpet, and the neighing of a charger, in the lines
quoted in the last paragraph, they do perform actions
equally ridiculous in every sentence of their oratory.

51. Emotive Expression will be, in a greater or less
degree, associated with all Gesticulation. The
speaker's feelings, with respect to the object spoken of,
should invariably find expression in his delivery. If the
orator is thoroughly conversant with the expressiveness
of the different varieties of gesture, and well exercised in
the mechanical principles of graceful motion, he may
trust to the spontaneous development of Emotive Gesture
in his delivery, without fear of its being inappropriate.

52. All the parts of the body must blend in harmo-
nious ACCOMPANIMENT to the Gesticulating member. Is-
olated motions are ungraceful and unnatural. The im-
pulse that moves the hand will not be unfelt by every
muscle in the frame. If gesture were practised merely
as a mechanical art, this united expression might not be
attained ; but the Mechanics of Action should be studied

l8o APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

chiefly for the sake of grace, and as a means to keep in
check the energy that might else run wild. For

"In the very tempest, torrent, and. as I may say, whirlwind of
your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may
give it smoothness."

A speaker who loses command over himself either in
language, intonation, or gesture, must not be surprised if
he preserve none over his audience.

53. Gestures may be divided into Colloquial and
Oratorical. The difference between the two classes
arises only from the comparative proximity or distance of
speaker and hearer. In the former class the arm is bent,
and held near the side, — although not in contact with it,.
and the action is chiefly confined to the hand; in the
latter class, the arm — the "oratorical weapon," — is fully
unfolded, advanced from the body, and moved directly
from the shoulder.

54. With reference to the application of Gesture, the
following is a grand precept : —

" To this one standard make your just appeal,
Here lies the golden secret, — Learn to feel!"

VII. EXAMPLES OF THE APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

55. The following Examples are added as Illustrations
of the mode of applying Gesture. The aim of the pre-
scribed actions is simply to realize the scene. This in-
deed is the principle of all oratorical action. The Shake-
sperian precept, " Suit the action to the word," being —
as we have shown — liable to a serious misapplication, its
true meaning will be unambiguously conveyed by the
equally laconic direction, Rbalize the scene.

LOCHINVAR. — Scott.

I. *0 young Lochinvar is come out of the west I Through all
the wide Border his steed was the best ; and, save his good broad-
sword, he weapon had none ; he rode all unarmed, and he rode
all alone ! So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, there:
never was knight like the young Lochinvar !

^He staid not for brake, and he stopped not for stone ; he swam
the Esk river where ford there was none ; — but, 'ere he alighted at
Netherby gate, the bride had consented I — the gallant came late :

APPLICATION OF GESTURE. l8l

for *a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, was to wed *the fair
Ellen of brave Lochinvar!

®So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall, ^'rnong bride's-men,
and kinsmen, and brothers, and all : II. 'Then spoke the bride's
father, his hand on his sword — "for the poor, craven bridegroom
said never a word — " "O, come ye in peace here, or come ye in
■war? — ^"or to dance at our bridal, — young Lord Lochinvar?"

" " I long wooed your daughter, my suit you denied : love
swells like the Solway, but "ebbs like its tide ! And now am
i come, *Vith this lost love of mine, to lead but one measure,
drink one cup of wine ! — There are maidens in Scotland '^more
lovely by far, ®that would gladly be bride to the young Lochin-
var !""

^•The bride kissed the goblet! the knight took it up ; he quaffed
off the wine, and he threw down the cup ! She looked down to
blush, and she looked up to sigh — with a smile on her lip, and a
tear in her eye. "He took her soft hand, ***ere her mother could
har, — '^ ** Now tread we a measure !" "said young Lochinvar.

^'So stately his form, and so lovely her face, that never a hall
such aj?alliard did grace I While her mother "did fret, and her
father "did fume, "'and the bridegroom stood "dangling his bon-
net and plume; "*and the bride-maidens whispered, ^"'Twere
better by far to have matched our fair cousin with "young Loch-
invar I"

"^One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear, when they
reached ''•the hall-door, "and the charger stood near; — **so light
to the croupe the fair lady he swung, so light to the saddle before
her he sprung! " '* She is won ! "we are gone, over bank, bush,
and scaur! they'll have '"fleet steeds that follow!" "quoth young
Lochinvar.

"There was mounting *mong Grsemes of the Netherby clan;
Fosters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran;
there was racing and chasing ''on Cannobie Lea — but the lost
bride of Netherby ne*er did they see. "So daring in love, and
so dauntless in war, ''have ye e*er heard of gallant "like young
Lochinvar?'*

Pictorial Arrangement.— I. Lochinvar on the left— Ketherby on the right. II.

The father on Lochinvar's right- the bridegroom on the left— the bride and

the mother in front.
Details ofactiont d^c— ^Looking vrith admiration to left alternately with speak-
ing to front, 'energetic tone with accentual swaying of the head, 'quiet under-
tone to front — ^indicating the position of Netherby by a motion of the head to the
right, ^strong tone of denunciation, 'clasping the hands, or otherwise express-

askance to left. **a contemptuous nod, then turn to left. ^*look to left alter-
nately with speaking to front, as if describing to the audience what is taking place,
^'turning to left : ndextending left hand, '"looking smilingly to right. *»to front.
^*>stepping backwards, as if to make room, and carrying the eye from left to right,
as if following the motion of the dancers, •'imitative sound of vexation, ""pant-
ing with anger, and grasping the scabbard with left hand, while repeatedly opening
and closing the right h&nd. **pointiDg with the thumb to the left, and looking in

1 32 APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

the opposite direction, '^imitative— supporting the right arm in the left hand and
dangling the right hand from the wrist, keeping time to the action with a motion
of the head. . **pointine and looking to front with face averted. **applying the back
of right hand to the left comer of the mouth, and speaking in an undertone. *'in>
dicating his position by looking askance to left, and nodding the head in that di-
rection. *«sj>eaking to front in a semi-whisper '•pointing and looking askance
to left. '®to front with look of eager surprise, '^quick utterance in undertone pro-
gressively intensified, "loud tone, with action as if drawing the bridle in the left
hand, ^'backward action of right hand, as if ur^^ing the steed with a whip. »*in-
dicate commotion on all sides by alternately moving the right hand to the right and
the left hand to the left. »»both hands pointing to front, ••looking to front and
pointing left hand to left. »»right hand extended open to front, "'both hands,
pointing to left. **bow.

hamlet's meditation on death. — Shakespeare,

'To be, or not to be ^ 'that Ms the question : Vhether 'tis nobler
in the mind to suiFer the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and hy opposing, *end
them ;•— To die .?— *to sleep— no more ;— and, by a sleep, to say we
end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is
heir to — 'tis a consummation 'devoutly to be wished. *To die }'
— '^to sleep :— 'to sleep .!*— *®perchance to dream — ^Ay, ''there's the
rub I For "in that sleep of death "what dreams may come, when
we have shuffled off this mortal coil, *must give us pause ; "there's-
the respect that makes calamity of so long life : "for who would
bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor's wrong, the
proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law's
delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit
of the unworthy takes, when "he himself might his quietus make
with a bare "bodkin ?• Who would fardels bear, to groan and
sweat under a weary life ; but that the dread of something '"after
death — 'that undiscovered country, from whose bourn no travel-
ler returns — 'puzzlw the will, and makes us "rather bear those
ills we have, '"than fly to others ''that we know not of?" Thus
conscience does make cowards of us all ; and thus the native hue
of resolution is ""sicklied o'er with the pale cast of "'thought, and
enterprises of great pith and moment ; 'Vith this regard, their
currents turn awry, "and lose "'the name" of action.**

'Standing for some seconds before speaking, with the right elbow supported in
the left hand, the forefinger and thumb of the right hand supporting the chin, — or
in any attitude of meditation — with the eyes fixed on vacancy. *an accentual nod
of the head. Hhaking the head, ^letting the right hand fall on the left arm.
"extend the arms with the accent— palms downwards. *rest. 'look upwards
with desire, "meditative attitude — the arms extended downward— palms down^
wards and fingers interlaced, the head lying to one side. *head quickly erected,
'"looking uneasily forward, with raised eyebrows and open mouth, ''head de>
pressed, eyes raised, '^raising the head progressively, "pointing demonstra*
tively upwards, '^extending the right hand in front, '"an accentual stroke of the
right hand towards the left side, as if pointing to a dagger or sword. . '"slowly rais-
ing the head and eyes, '^extending both arms — hands open, '"tumine the hands
round and elevating them from the wrist, '"raising the arms to the level of the
head, and dropping them to rest with an accentual sigh. sojQovijig i\^^ right hand
to and fro in front — ^palm downward, "'throwing out the right hand obliquely, and
shaking the head, ""extending both arms and raising the hands— palm outward*
""a gentle accentxial stroke of the hands forwards, "^bow.

APPLICATION OF GESTURE. iSj

THE DEATH OF MARMION.— 5«> Walter Scott.

(I.) *With fruitless labour, Clara bound, 'and strove to staunch^
the gushing wound: "the monk, *with unavailing cares, 'ex-
hausted all the Churches prayers; "Ever, he said, that, 'close
and near, a lady's voice was in his ear, and that the pnest** he
could not hear, for that she ever sung — '"In the lost battle,
borne down by the flying, where mingles war's rattle, with
groans "of the dying !" "so the notes rung.

""Avoid thee. Fiend!— with cruel hand, shake not the dying
sinner's sand! "Oh, look, my son, upon yon sign of the Re-
deemer's grace divine! "oh, think on faith, and bliss! **By
many a death-bed I have been, and many a sinner's parting
seen, but never aught "like this."

(II.) "The war, that for a space did fail, now trebly thundering,
swell'd the gale, and "'* Stanley I" was the cry : "A light on Mar-
mion's visage spread, and fir'd his glazing eye ; with dying hand,
above his head he shook the fragment of his blade, and shouted,
"'"Victory! "'Charge! Chester !— Charge ! "On ! Stanley! on!""
**were the last words of Marmion.**

Pictorial Arrangement. — I. Marmion lyitiz on the ground in the centre — ^facing
the speaker — Clara kneeling by his side to the right — the monk standing be-
side him, to the left. II. The battlefield to the extreme left.

Details of action ^ d^c— ^Pointing downwards with right forefineer to Clara, on
right of centre, ^open the hand, 'pointing horizontally with left forefinger to left
of centre, ^raising the hand and looking downwards sympathetically to centre.

'the hand foiling to rest with the accent — the head shaking, 'pointing downwards
to centre with right hand, 'the eyes fixed on vacancy. *shakmg the head, "slow
utterance— muffled voice— listening attitude. * •feebly nodding the head. * "look-
ing around at the audience. "*the left arm extended in front— palm downward —
as if shielding the prostrate man ; the right arm extended backward — the palm

outward — as in repulsion, ^'lookine to Marmion and raising the right forefinger,
^^clasping the hands, ^'averting the head — to right, "'drawing back the head
and looking feariiilly askance at Marmion. > 'look suddenly with raised eyebrows

"^clasping the hands.

and looking feariiilly as , ,

to the extreme left, "'pointing with left hand in the same direction, "'pointing
abruptly with right hand to Marmion. "with the action previously described-
shaking the sword, '"the left hand downwards as if supporting the body— panting
utterance, "raise both hands eagerly, "drop both arms sudoenly— rest— •*point
with both hands to Marmion, and shake the head mournftilly while speaking,
"bow.

AN orator's first SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT. — Alex. Bell.

^The virgin Member Hakes his honoured place, Vhile beams
of modest wisdom light his face : multum in parvo in the man
you see; he represents — 'the people's majesty! 'Behold their
choice! the pledged, 'midst many a cheer, to give free *tradel
'free votes! ®free bread and beer! Blest times! — 'He sits at
last within the walls of famed St. Stephen's venerated hails I
"O, shades of Pitt and Fox ! 'is he within the House of Commons ?
'How his senses spin ! Proud man ! "has he then caught the
Speaker's eye? "no, not just yet — but he will, by-and-by. 'I
wonder if there are reporters here ? "Ay, that there are, and
hard at work they appear. "O happy man ! By the next post
shall reach your loved constituents, "the maiden speech ! The
Press (great tell tale !) will to all reveal, "how you have — spoken

i84

APPLICATION OF GESTURE.

for your Countr/s weal I In gaping wonder will the words be
read, "** The new M. P., Lord Noodle, rose, and said."

*This pillar of *' ten-pounders" rises now, and towards the
Speaker "makes profoundest bow. ^^Unused to so much honour,
his weak knees bend with the weight of senate-dignities. "He
staggers — almost falls — stares— "strokes his chin — clears out
his throat, and ventures to begin. '•** Sir, I am sensible"** (some
titter near him)— "**I am. Sir, sensible" «'" Hear, hear!" "(they
cheer him !) "Now bolder grown, for praise mistaking pother,
•tea-pots one arm, and spouts out with the other. ** I am, Sir,
sensible — I am, indeed — that, though — I should — want— words —
^I must proceed ; and, for the first time in my life "*I think — I
think — that— no great orator — ^"should shrink :— and, therefore,
— Mr. Speaker — I for one — '^will speak out freely. '"Sir— I*ve not
yet done. "Sir, in the name of those enlightened men who sent
me here to *speak for them — why then^ to do my duty — as I said
before — to my constituency — "^1*11 say no more."

Pictorial Arrang^fHeni.—TYic House of Commons. The "Virgin Member" on
the right— the '* Speaker** in front— reporters' gallery to left of centre — the
interrupting members on the left side.
Details o/ actioMy &'c.—^Loo\i and point with right forefinger to the "virgin
member/' then speak to front, 'open the hand. *expand both arms, ^upward
wave to right, 'upward wave to left. *a confidential communication — ^the hand
covering the moutn. ^look around with pride, 'clasping the hands.^ 'hand on
forehead. ^ 'a quiet undertone to front. * ^look to right and centre, and rdght again
before speaking. ^*look upwards to left, ^'swavinff the head rapturously,
^^point with the open right hand as if at a paper in the left hand, ^'poiibt to the
speedi with the right forefinger, ^'imitative, ^'point to right, and speak ^o front
jocuUtrly. ^'look to right before speaking to front. ^*to centre, with obeKsance.
"look annoyed to left side, then speak smilingly to front. *^1ook amused t^ left,
"point to left, and speak mirthfully to front, "look archly to front. *Mook>with
a contemptuous shrug to left before speaking, "look bewildered and glance V^ith
an air of annoyance to left before speaking, "frowning to left. *^wiih a detter-
mined side jerk of the head, "look to left with an air of triumph, then speakyto
front, "proudly, "hesitating. **look disconcertedly to left, then speak lugu-
briously.

RUSTIC LOGIC. — Anonymous. \

(I.) ^Hodge, a poor honest country lout, not over-stocked with
learning, chanced on a summer's eve 'to meet the Vicar, home
returning. **' Ah ! Master Hodge," the Vicar cried, ** what, still
as wise as ever? *the people in the village say that you are won-
drous clever." *" Why, Measter Parson, as to that I beg you'll
right conceive me. •! do na brag, but yet 'I knaw a thing or two,
believe me." '"We'll try your skill,^' "the Parson cried, •**for
learning what digestion : and this you'll prove or right or wrong,
by solving me a question. "Noah, of old, three babies had, or
grown-up children rather; "Shem, Ham, and Japhet they were
called; — now ^Vho was Japhet's father.?"

"** Rat it!" cried Hodge, and scratched his head; ** that does
my wits belabour : but howsomde'er I'll "homeward run, and ax
old Giles my neighbour."

**To Giles he went, and put the case with circumspect inten-
tion : (11.) "" Thou fool," cried Giles, *' I'll make it clear to thy

NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1 85

dull comprehension. Three children has Tom Long, the smith,
or cattle-doctor rather; Tom, Dick, and Harry, they are called;
*now, who is Harry's father?"

""Adzooks, I have it," Hodge replied, "right well I know
your lingo; who's Harry's father ?"— stop — "here goes, — why
Tom Long, smith, by jingo."

(III.) "Away he ran to find the priest, with all his might and
main ; who with good humour instant put the question once again .
*"*'Noah, of old, three babies had, or grown-up children rather;
**Shem, Ham, and Japhet they were called : now ^°who was

'. have it now," "Hodge grinning cried, *'" I'll answer like

Japhet's father.?'

^***I have it now," "Hodge grinning cried, '
a proctor: 'Vho's Japhet's father? ''*now I know; why. Long
Tom, smith, the doctor."**

Pictorial Arraneetiient. — I. Hodge coming from left meets the Vicar coming from
right. II. Giles stands on Hodge's right. III. Hodge runs towards the
Vicaron the right.
Details of action^ &*c.—^Loo\c. and point to left, then speak to front, 'giving
a rustic salute to right. *tum and speak to left with raised evebrows. "^pout the
lips, depress the eyebrows, and shake the head, 'turn and speak smilingly to
right, 'with raised eyebrows, 'smiling and jerking the head to one side, "speak
to front without turning the body. *speak to left. ^ 'very deliberately. '■ ^striking
the thumb, fore and middle fineers of left hand with right forefinser, in pronoun-
cing the names, ^'repeating the last stroke and accentually nodding the head,
^'turn and speak to right with puzzled expression and ''scratching" action,
^'point backwards over the shoulder with the thumb of left hand, ^'pointing to
left, and speaking amusedly to front. ^*to left with knitted brow and giving Hodge
a dig with the thumb. * 'slapping the leg or otherwise expressing vulgar triumph,
^"chuckle, then chanse to a wandering silent look of serious stupidity. ^ 'point to
right, and speak smuingly to front, ''repeatedly strike the middle finger while
speaking, '^chuckling and rubbing the less, or otherwise expressing vulgar delight,
''jerk the head to one side triumphantly, then speak to front, "panting, as if
from quick running, '^ith the head lying knowingly to one side, "with a nod
of pride, "a chuckle of self satisfaction suddenly changed to a look of puzzled
disappointment— then look to the audience while you point laughingly to Hodge,
and make your bow.

VIII. NOTATION OF GESTURE.

56. A system of Notation for Attitude and Motion is
presented in the following pages. By this means a
speaker can record for practice any position or movement
which, in Oratory, in Painting, or in Sculpture, strikes
him as effective. By this, also, an artist can jot for re-
production any attitude of which he may have obtained
a momentary glimpse. To teachers of Gesture the sys-
tem of Notation will be of great service, in furnishing a
nomenclature for the mechanics of action ; and to stu-
dents it will be found of considerable assistance in the; ac-
quisition of variety and precision of movement.

57* Positions of the Feet,

The following diagram illustrates the positions and
shifts of the feet : —

i86

NOTATION OF GESTURE.

Explanation,

No. I. A turn on the ball of the foot from the position
indicated by the black feet.

No. 2. A turn on the heel from the same position.

No. 3. Preparatory shift for turning to the opposite
side.

58. When the right foot is in front, these turns can
only be made to the left ; and when the left foot is in
front the turns can only be made to the ri^ht. A circle
may be traversed, as an exercise, by shifting one foot
after each turn. The circle will be completed in four
turns on the heel, or eight turns on the ball of the foot.

When the feet are separated by the breadth of a foot
the positions are noted :

Right foot in front. Left foot in front.

R I Li

R 2 L 2

When the feet are separated by the length of a foot
the positions are noted : —

R3 L3

R 4 L 4

When the feet are more widely separated the positions
are noted : —

R5 L5

R 6 L 6

In these notations the weight of the body is on the
retired foot for the odd numbers (i? 3i 5) and on the ad-
vanced foot for the even numbers (2, 4, 6).

NOTATION OF GESTURE.

Vertical and Transverse Motions of the Arms*

187

59. Either arm may move with grace to the extent of
a SEMI-CIRCLE, both vertically and horizontally. For
NOTATION, five points are selected — the extremities of
the semi-circle, the middle^ and a point intermediate to
the middle and each extreme.

60. The extremities of the vertical semi-circle are the
zenith and the nadir (marked z and «) ; the middle
point is the horizontal (h) ; and the other intermediate
points are : — elevated half-way to the zenith (e) , and
downwards half-way to the nadir (d^ . When the arm
hangs at rest^ it is of course directed to the nadir. The
notation N is used to distinguish the rest position from
the gesture, n,

61. The extremities of the transverse semi-circle
are : — the arm across the body ( c), and backward about 30-
degrees (b) : the other points are : — the arm extended in
a line with the shoulders {x) ; projected in front of the
body (y ) , and directed obliquely between the front and
the extended positions (^). The diagram illustrates-
these notations :

1 88 NOTATION OP GESTURE

Graceful and Passionate Transitions.

62. Gestures would be disagreeably angular if the most
direct line of transition from point to point were fol-
lowed by the arms. A preparatory movement is there-
fore made, in the opposite direction, before any impor-
tant gesture.

63. In unimpassioned delivery the preparatory move-
ment may be sweeping and varied, for graceful effect.

64. In strong passion the preparatory movement will
be direct and simple, but extensive, and the lines of the
accentual gesture bold and straight.

IX. GENERAL SCHEME OF NOTATION FOR ATTI-
TUDE AND MOTION.

65. I. The Feet, Lower Limbs, and Trunk.

(Notation placed below the line).

L \] } See p. 186.

-|-..- standing with one
foot across the other

up...bod3r drawn up,
as in pride

dn...body sunk down,
as in languor

NOTB.— I. The rieht foot is in/rcni for the R series, and the left, for the L se-
ries. The weight of the body rests on tht/oot in/ront for all the tven numbers,
and on the retired foot for the odd numbers.

II. A small number should be prefixed to the notation ibr advancing, retiring^
stepping to the right , or to the ie/i, when more than one step is to be made. Thus
*ad, oMfancing twa steps, *re, retiring three steps.

dd. The Arms,

(AH the subsequent notations placed above the line.)
z ...pointing to the zenith c... directed across the body

e... elevated 45° above the horizon f... " forwards
h... horizontal q... ** obliquely45°fromf

d.. .downwards 45® below the x... extended in the line of the

horizon shoulders

n... pointing to the nadir b.. .directed backwards

N (nadir) . the arm hanging at rest.

i; R2; R3

; R 4; R 5;

i; L2; L3i

; L 4; L 5;

ad.

..advancing

sh .. shaking

re.

..retiring

wk... walking

r...

..stepping to right

kn.. kneeling

1....

, . stepping to left

bw... bo wing

«t..

..starting

crt... curtseying

«p.

..stamping

pp.... preparatory movement de descending

•con. ..the arm contracted r moving to the right

«xp... " *' expanded 1 moving to the left

as ... .ascending pj the arm projected

NOTATION OF GESTURE. iS^

bk....the arm drawn back wv.... waving

rb ....rebound from any position w lying close to the waist

to the same again si slow motion

dr the arms drooping qk quick motion

fd the arms folded ^-v(or oc) over curve

kim...k kimbo >--^(or uc) under curve

shr.... shrinking ouc or uoc... serpentine

tr tremulous

67. IlL—TJke Hands.

nt . . . naturally opened sh. . . . shaking

s ....supine, (palm upwards) ch.... clinched

p prone, (palm downwards) str... striking

o palm outwards gr.... grasping

i palm inwards in. ...moved inwards, as in invi-

V raised vertically tation

do. ..turned downwards ou.... moved outwards (from the
ix.... indexing or pointing wrist)

rv ...hands revolving

ap ...both hands applied palm to pal... striking the left palm with

palm the right forefinger or hand

tip. ..fingers of both hands cr.... hands crossed

spread and applied tip to tip cl... . hands clasped

en. ..enumerating (the right wr.... hands wrung

forefinger touching succes- clp.. .clapping

sively the left finger tips)

NoTB. — I. When the ie/i hand or arm is meant, a ffne ts prefixed to the sym-
bolic letter. Thus:— d q signifies LEFT HAND, daatnwards, oblique.

II. A c<7/<7if is placed between any two sets of letters that refer to the different
hands. Thus— d q : z, signifies LEFT HAND, downiuards, oblique ^ and RIGHT
UKUTi pointing to the zenith: dq:— N signifies RIGHT HAND downwards,
oblique, LEFT i{AiJDydllin£^ to rest. The several symbols arc separated from,
each other by spaces or points.

III. A small > prefixed to the notation will indicate that both hands perform
the same motion.

IV. Alternation is denoted by the letter a. A number prefixed shows how rften
the alternation is repeated. Thus h c'^'q »a, signifies r>g-ht hand horizontal^
across the body, whence overcurvedto the oblique position ; — the le/t hand aiter^
nalely with the right, performing the same motion twice to ihe opposite side.'
7*he notation a a may be used for again and again,

V. Imitative gestures are expressed by the general symbol im.

6^. rv. — Paris of the Body on which the Hands may be placed^

He.

..hand on head

Ck...

.hand supporting cheek

Fo..

.. ** forehead

Cn..

. ** " chin

Te..

. " temple

Br...

. ** on breast

Ey..

.. ** eyes

Bbr.

. ** beating the breast

Mo.

. '* mouth

Bk...

. " behind the back

Li.... finger on lip

Note.— A small • prefixed to either of these will denote both hands. Thus :-
s£y signifies both hands on the eyes; *Bk, both hand* behind the bach.

190 NOTATION OF GESTURE.

69. Y.^Tke Head and Face,

B head thrown back Ts....head tossing

Cr ** crouched Sh ... ** shaking

I *' inclined to one side Nd... '* nodding

II " " to left Av... " averted from tjie di-

Ir *• ** to right rection of the gesture

H '* hanging down Sm.. a smiling countenance

Fr frowning F ejes looking in front

Lu.... lugubrious Ar... " around

Lau... laughing As... ** askance

Lf.....ejebrows lifted St.. ..staring

Dp.... ** depressed We. ..weeping

Kn ... ** knitted Wi... winking

R eyes looking to the right V eyes fixed on vacancy

L ** «* left CI.... " closed

U ** "upwards Mr... " measuring (See par. 5)

X> " "downwards No... nostrils turned up

Ft lips pouted O.... mouth open

Bt " bitten Gn... teeth gnashed

Cp.... " compressed

X. ORDER OF SYMBOLIC ARRANGEMENT.

70. The symbolic letters being in all cases different, no
confusion could arise whatever order of notation might
be adopted ; but when several letters have to be em-
ployed, the following order should be observed, as more
convenient than a random arrangement.

71. Place j'frj/ the notation of the z/^r//ca/ situation of
the arm (z e h d n) ; then of its transverse direction
(c f q X b) ; next of the manner of presentation or mo-
tion of the hand; and the other symbols in the most con-
venient order.

72. The notations of the " Parts of the Body on which
the Hands may be placed," and of the Expressions of
the " Head and Face," are in Capital letters ; all the
others (written above the line) are in small letters.

73. The compound symbols will be easily remembered,
as they generally suggest at once the words of which they
are contractions ; but the single letters directly tax the
memory. For convenience of reference, all the symbols
written above the line are collected in the following

Recapitulative Table of Symbolic Letters :

a alternation ad advancing

aa again and again ap applied

NOTATION OF GESTURK.

191

as ascending

b backward

bk drawn back

bw bowing

c across

ch clinched

cl clasped

clp ....clappinjv
con ....contracted

cr crossed

crt curtseying

d downward

de descending

dn sunk down

do turned downwards

dr drooping

e elevated

en enumerating

exp.... expanded

f forward

fd folded

gr grasping

h horizontal

inward

n moved inwards

X indexing

kim....a kimbo

kn kneeling

1 to left

n to nadir

nt naturally

o outward

Ar looking around

As " askance

Av eyes averted

6 head back

Bbr ...beating breast
6k ... .hands behind back

Br " on breast

Bt biting lips

Ck....hand on cheek

Cl eyes closed

Cn hand on chin

Cp lips compressed

Cr head crouched

D eyes down

Dp eyebrows depressed

Ey ... .hand on eyes

oc over-curve

ou moved outwards

ouc....over and under-curve

p prone

pal ... .striking palm

pj projected

pp preparatory

q oblique

qk quick

r to right

rb rebound

rv revolving

s supine

sh shaking

shr.... shrinking

si slow

sp stamping

st startmg

str striking

tip tip to tip

tr tremulous

uc under-curve

uoc ...under and over-curve

up drawn up

V vertical

w to waist

wk ....walking

wr wringing

wv.... waving

X extended

z zenith

F looking in front

Fo hand on forehead

Fr frowning

Gn gnashing teeth

H head hanging

He ....hand on head

I head inclined

II " *' to left

Ir head inclined to right

Kn..... brows knitted

L looking to left

Lau... laughing
Lif..... eyebrows lifted

Li hand on lip

Lu ... .lugubrious
Mo ....hand on mouth

192 NOTATION OF GESTURE.

Mr ....eyes measuring St staring

No ....nostrils lifted Te hand on temple

Nd nodding Ts tossing head

O mouth open U looking upward

Pt pouting V. vacant aspect

R looking to right We ....weeping

Sh shaking head Wi .... winking

Sm. ...smiling

74. The following passages are marked^ as Exercises
in the Notation. The subject does not require length-
ened illustration. Gesture should not be made too studied,
or rigidly systematical ; freedom — the chief characteris-
tic of grace — would be destroyed in the attempt to follow
a minutely directive notation. Let every motion be in
itself expressive and graceful, and scope may be left for
spontaneity of application.

XI. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NOTATION OF GESTURE.

MACBETH TO THE DAGGER-VISION. — Shakespeare.

h q p shr
Is this a dagger [which I see before me ? —

stR3

PJ V

The handle towards my hand ? — Come, let me clutch thee : —

R4 L2 r R2

hqs St

I have thee not; — and yet I see thee still !

Dp o pj

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible

To feeling as to sight ? — or art thou but

rb
A dagger of the mind ? — ^a false creation

F
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain }(T\

I see thee yet ; — m form as palpable
R2

Im
As this which now I draw.

— he to qsl — ix

Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going ;

NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1 93

— pp — «q

And/^8uch an instrument I was to use.

Ri
Sh*h con •pj'^d

Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,

Li La

?k cl e q qk— h q ix

)r else worth all the rest : — I see thee still I

Li Ra L3

— V as — h q con — pj h q — c

And^TNon thy' blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood . . .

— w

Which was not so before I —

Ar h q T Sh

There's no such thing : —
Lz

Kn ch Bbr — e q

It is the bloody business, which informs

La
— rl N

Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one-half world
Rx

Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse-

The curtained sleep. Now witchcraft celebrates
R2

Pale Hecate's offering, and withered murder

Alarumed by his sentinel the wolf
Rx ^

Whose howl's his watch, thus, with his stealthy pace,
R2

With Tarquin's ravishing strides, toward his design

Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth
ad 1 R2

r: — 1 shr ch

Hear not my steps which way they walk — for fear

2 dx

The very stones prate of my whereabout !

2 pj V e f V

And take the present horror from the time
Ri

Which now suits with it.

194 NOTATION OF GESTURE.

w — hqp

I go, and it is done :/TNthe bell invites me./T\

Ra —ad

Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell

— z ix — rv: db

That summons thee ... to heaven or to hell.

BCARCO BozzARis. — F, G. HalUck.

d q ix

At midnight, in his guarded tent,
Lx

The Turk was dreaming ... of the hour

s pp d q ch sh

When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent,

con pj

Should tremble at his power ;
h q ix c to f to q'^o x s

In dreams, through camp and court he bore

L2 Lz

rr er

The trophies of a conqueror ;
L3
ix Sm

In dreams, his song of triumph heard —

La
R hqo

Then, wore that monarch's signet-ring —

pp d str *h f^^eq

Then, pressed that monarch's throne — a king I —

rRa
N I

As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing,

Sb
As Eden's garden bird !/^
Ri

— h q ix

At midnight, in the forest shades,

Ra
— r p — I p

Bozzaris ranged his Suliote band,

— s nt

True as the steel of their tried blades,

— rb cb as h q jitr

Heroes in heart and hand.
La up Ri

NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1 95

— ^hq ix

There had the Persians' thousands stood,

Lz
pp as — d q ix ttr

There had the glad earth drunk their blood

— ch rb

On old Plataea's day;

La up
ok— h q s: hfs pp *e<^o

And now these breathed that haunted air —
Lz

The sons of sires who conquered there —

ch con str: — ch Br:

With arm to strike, and soul to dare,

La Lz

As quick, as far as they !/^

>adLa
N hqix

All hour passed on : — the Turk awoke ; —

Lz
V as

That bright dream/Tswas his last ; —
dn
As — w

He woke — to hear his sentries shriek —

re L3

R e q V — ^ix s q

*' To arms I— they come I— the Greek l~the Greek I"

N c ^ X

He woke— to die,/CNmidst flame, and smoke,

Rz dn R2

— c '^x:

And shout, and groan, and sabre stroke,

Ra
*h con
And death-shots falling thick and fast,

JLike forest-pines before the blast.

Or liffhtnings from the mountain-cloud ; . . .

clL
And heard — with voice as trumpet loud, —

re L3
—hq:

Bozzaris cheer his band : —

C^h^e q ch str

^* Strike I — till the last armed foe expires —
<L4) L3

c^e q tr

Strike — for your altars and your fires —

stp

196 NOTATION OF GESTURE.

— db^z tr

Strike I — for the green graves of your sires —

•z U "exp ou

God, — and jour native land !"/^

•h f s p X

They fought, like brave men, long and well,
L4

«^f s as
They piled that ground with Moslem slain,-—

e cl con

They conquered ! . . . but Bozzaris fell,

Bleeding at every vein.

•hq

His few surviving comrades saw

Sm — d f: WT

His smile, when rang their proud hurrah >

And the red field was won ;

pp h cr

Then saw in death his eyelids close,
Li

Calmly as to a night's repose,

N
Like flowers at set of sun.

D-w:fe

Bozzaris ! She who gave thee birth
Ri

Will, by the pilgrim-circled hearth

rj ou
Talk of thy doom without a sigh ;
Ra
'd q exp acq

For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's ;
rb zf

One of the few, the immortal names,
Rz
.^- — ^h to — d q

That were riot born to die I
L3(bw>

THE

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION,

PART SIXTH.

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

1 . A special search for illustrations of the Language
of Passion resulted in the discovery that poets, and even
dramatists — ^with the exception of Shakespeare — ^while
they constantly speak about Passion, comparatively sel-
dom give it direct utterance. The passages herein
gatliered from the wide fields of Shakespearean and
general literature are embodiments of passionate expres-
sion^ in all moods, " from grave to gay, from lively to
severe." As such, they furnish the very best kind of
material for elocutionary exercise.

2. The shades of sentiment in each passage — as appre-
hended by the student — should be noted in the margin,
and the passages then delivered so as to express the sen-
timents indicated. This exercise will be found not only
improving to style, but valuable for the development of
critical acumen, and the formation of a habit of close
attentiveness in general reading.

3. The emphatic words are denoted by italics. No
attempt is made to show the relative force of the empha-
ses. Something must be left for the reader's own dis-
crimination. The most important distinction among the
italicised words would be manifested by the reader's un-
derlining such words as he conceives to be suggestive of
more than they literally express.

4. In addition to the ordinary marks of punctuation,
the Clause ( f L I )' ^^ Break (...), and the JSxpres-
sive Pause ( '^ ) , are occasionally introduced.

198 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

EMPHASIZED EXERCISES

IN THE

LANGUAGE OF PASSION.
ABSORBING LOVE.— -P. J, Bailey.

The only music | he
Or learn'd or listened to, was from the lips
Of her he loved ; — and that he learnt by kearL
Albeit she would try to teach him tunes,
And put his fingers on the keys; but he
Could only see » . » her eyes, and hear . . . her voice ^
A.nd feel . . . her touch,

ADMIRATION. — Shakesfeare,

V^YidXyou do
Still betters what is done. When you sfeah, sweet,
I'd have you do it ever : when you sinff,
I'd have you buy and sell so ; so give alms ;
Pray so ; and, tot the ordering your affairs.
To sing them too./^ When you do dance, I wish you
A wave of the sea . . . that jrou might ever do
Nothing but that : move still, still so.
And own no other function. Each your doing —
So singular in each particular—
Crowns what you are doing, in th^f resent deeds,
That all your acts are queens.

ADMONITION TO CONSISTENCY. — Shakespeare.

Remember March, the Ides of March remember!
Did not great Julius \ bleed ior justice* sake?
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab,
And not for justice f What ! shall one of us.
That struck the foremost man of all this world.
But for supporting- robbers — shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honours . . v
For so much . . . trash as may be grasped thus ? —
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon.
Than . . . such a Roman.

A DVLKAM.^ Republic of Letters.

Thus spoke I to a vision of the night; —
** O, joy ! A dream ? Thanh heaven that it is fled !
For know you not, I dreamt that you were dead : —
And with the dream my soul was sickened quite.

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. I99

But since you're kere^ and since m^ heart is light,

Come, as of old, and let us wandering seek

Yon high and lovely hill, upon whose height.

Which looks on all we value, we may speak

As we were tvoni, amid its bracing air, ^

And pluck the while its crowned jewels there :

For — Lhow I know not | but 'tis lon^ago

Since last we met . . . f/a ! Wherefore look you so?

And why this. . . dimness^ " /^n— Horror ! 'twas the Gkost

Alone I saw | of him I loved and lost !

ADVICE.— Shakespeare.

Give thy thoughts no tongue.
Nor any unproportion" d thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried.
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel :
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each »ew-hatch'd and unfledg'd comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in.
Bear it, that the opposer \ may beware of thee.
Give every man thme ear, hxitfew thy voice.
Take each man's censure, but reserve M^ judgement :
This above all, to thine own self he true.
And it must follow, as the night the day.
Thou canst not then | be false to any one.

AFFECTION.— 7. 5. Knowles,

Men go mad
To lose their hoards oipelf, when hoards as rich
With industry may come in time again I
Yet they go mad ... it happens every day.
Have not some slain themselves ? Yet, if a maid, —
Who finds that she has . . . nothing \ garner'd up,
Where she believed she had a heart in store
For one she gave away — is desperate.
You marvel zt her I Marvel I — when the mines —
Of all the earth — are poor as beggary
To make her rich again I Am I ashamed
To tell thee this ? No I— Save the love we pay
To Heaven, none purer, holier, than that
A virtuous woman feels for him she'd cleave
Through life to. Sisters part from sisters — brothers
From brothers — children from their parents — but
Such woman from the husband ,of her choice . . .
.^ever.

AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE. — Wordsworth,

She dwelt among the untrodden ways beside the springs of Dove —
A maid whom there were none to praise, and very few to love : —

200 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

A violet, by a mossy stone h.9\f hidden from the eye —

Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know when Lucy ceasedio be.

But . . . she is in her grave — and, oh, the difference to me I

AMBITION. —Byron,

Ay — father ! I have had those earthly visions

And noble aspirations, in my youth.

To make my own the mind of other men.

The enlightener of nations ; and to rise . . .

I knew not whither — it might be | to fall;

But fall, even as the mountain cataract.

Which, having leapt from its more dazzling height,

Even in the foaming strength of its abyss,

Lies low, but mighty still. /^ But . . . this is past ;

My thoughts mistook themselves.

ANGER. — Shakespeare.

Not speak of Mortimer I
Zounds, I will speak of him ; and let my soul
Want mercy, if I do not join with him. —
Yea, on his part, I'll empty all these veins.
And shed my dear blood, drop by drop, i' the dust,
But I will lift the down-trod Mortimer
As high i' the air as this unthankful king ;
As this ingrate and cankered Bolingbroke.
Those prisoners I shall keep— I will; that's flat./^
He said he would not ransom Mortimer ;
Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer ;
But I will find him when he lies asleep.
And in his ear Til holla — Mortimer I
Nay,

I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak
Nothing but — Mortimer . . . and give it him.
To keep his anger still in motion.

ANGRY SURPRISE. — Shakespea re.

Gone . . . to be married /—gone to swear a peace !

False blood to false blood joined! Gone. . . to ht friends ! —

Shall Lewis have Blanch } and Blanch those provinces f

It is not so : — thou hast ww-spoke, — mis-heard ! /Cs

Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again . . .

It cannot be : — thou dost but say 'tis so,/^

What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head ?

Why dost thou look so sadly on my son /

What means that hand upon that breast of thine ?

Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum, —

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 20I

Like a proud river peering o*er his bounds?
Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words ?
Then speak again ; . . . not all thy former tale,
But this one word, — whether thy tale be true /

APPARITION. — Shakespeare,

How ill this taper burns ! , . . Ha ! who comes here?/TN
I think I it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this . . . monstrous apparition —
It comes upon me : /rs art thou . . . any thing?
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil^
That mak*st my blood cold, and my hair to stare? ^^
Speak to me . . . what thou art.

APPREHENSION. — Lee, \

When the sun sets^ shadows that showed at noon
But small, appear most long and terrible :
So, when we think /ate hovers o'er our heads,
Our apprehensions shoot beyond all bounds ;
Owls^ ravens, crickets, seem the watch of death ; —
Nature's worst vermin scare her godlike sons.
Echoes, [the very leaving of a voice. |
Grow babbling ghosts, and call us to our graves.
Each mole-hxW thought swells to a huge Olympus ;
While we, fantastic dreamers, heave and puff,
And sweat. . . with an imagination's weight.

ASSUMED BLUNTNESS. — Shakespeare,

This is some fellow
Whp, having heen praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness; and constrains the garb,
Quite from his nature. — He cannot flatter , . . he !
An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth : /7\
An' they will take it. . . so; — if not . . . he's plain. ^t\
These kind of knaves I know, which in this . . , plainness
Harbour more craft, and more corrupter ends
Than twenty sill^, ducking observants,
That stretch their duties nicely.
Fetch forth the stocks, ho ! /ts

You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart. -
We'll teach you. . . Fetch forth the stocks : . . .
As I've life and honour, there shall he sit till noon.

AUTHORITY. — Shakespeare,

O, it is excellent

To have a giant's strength ; but it is tyrannous

To use it like a giant.

Could great men | thunder

As Jove himself does, Jove would ne'er be quiet i , . .

202 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

For every pelting petty officer,

Would use his heaven for thunder ; nothing,,, but ... thunder.

Merciful Heaven !

Tkou^ rather, with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt,

Split'st the unwedgeable and gnarled oaky

Than the soft myrtle. — O, but man^ proud man I

Drest in a little brief authority,

Most ignorant of what he*s most assured —

His glassy essence, — like an angry a^e^

Plays such fantastic tricks, before high Heaven,

As make the angels — weep,^

AVARICIOUS AGE. — Toung,

Oh, my coevals ! remnants of yourselves I
Poor human ruins ^ tott'ring o*er the grave I
Shall we, shall aged men, like aged trees,
Strike deeper their vile root, and closer cling,
Still more enamour*d of this wretched soil?
Shall our pale, withered hands, be still stretched out,
Trembling, at once with eagerness and age ?
With avarice and convulsions grasping hard ?
Grasping ... at air ! /^ for what has earth beside ?
Man wants but little ; nor that little long:
How soon must he resign his very dust !

BBAUTV. — Blair,

Beauty ! thou pretty play-th\n% I dear deceit !

That steals so softly o*er the stripling's heart.

And gives it a neyr pulse j unknown before, —

The grave , . . discredits thee. Thy charms expung^et^

Thy roses faded, and thy lilies soiled. —

What had*st thou more to boast of? Will thy lovers

Flock round thee now, to gaze and do thee homage ?

Methinks I see thee, with thy head laid low;

Whilst, surfeited upon thy damask cheek.

The high-fed worm in lazy volumes roll'd.

Riots unscar'd. For tkis was all thy caution ?

For this, thy painful labours at the glass.

To improve those charms, and keep them in repair.

Fox which the spoiler tkanks thee not? Foul feeder I

Coarse fare and carrion please thee full as well.

And leave as keen a relish on the sense.

BEREAVEMENT. — AUx, Bell,

Each has his woe, and /, alas, have mine.
All common sorrows are in common shared;
But there's a climax of calamity
Which settles in some solitary breast.

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 203

The angry winds and flooding rains oft spread
A general wreck ; while the electric fire
A single victim strikes. — O, I have been
A husband and 9i father I /tn JVbw, alas !
I'm childless^ widowed, hopeless, aimless !

BOASTFUL CHALLENGE. — Shakesfieare.

Show me what thou'lt do ;
Woul't weep ?Y,'ouVi fights YrouWfast / woul't /ear thyself ^
Woul't drink up Esif? eat a crococlile?
ril do't. — Dost thou come here to whine.
To outface me with leaping in her grave ?
Be buried . . . quick ... with her .... and so will I:
And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw
Millions of acres on us ; till our ground,
Singeing its pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay ! /ts an' thou'lt mouth,
ril rant as well as thou.

CHARITY. — Crabbe,

An ardent spirit dwells with Christian love, —
The eaglets vigour in the pitying dove :
'Tis not enough that we wi th» sorrow 5i]^A,
That w,e the wants of pleading man supply,
That we in sympathy with sunerers feel,
Nor hear a grief without a wish to heal :
Not these suffice : — to sickness, pain, and woe,
The Christian spirit loves with aid to go ; /cs
Will not be sought^ waits not for Want to plead.
But seehs the duty — nay, prevents the need ; —
Her utmost aid to every ill applies.
And plans relief for coming rcix^trvt^,

CHEERFULNESS. — Shakespeare,

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted ^<>»f^/ Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court f
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The season^ s difference ; — as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind, —
Which . . . when it bites and bldws upon my body»
Ev'n till I shrink with cold, I smile, ^f^&nd say.
This I is no flattery ; these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me . . . what ... I am.
Sweet are the uses of Adversity ;
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous.
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head ;
And this our life, [exempt from public haunts, |

204 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks.
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.

CLOSE OF A GUILTY CAREER. — Skakcsfieare,

I have liv'd long enough : my May of life

Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;

And that which 5^o«/</ accompany old age, —

LAs honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, \

/must not look to have; but, in their stead.

Curses . . . not loud, but deep, — mouth'\iono\xr, — breath, ft\

Which the poor heart would yai» deny, but dare not.

CONFIDENCE. — Byron,

ThsiVs/alse ! a truer, nobler, trustier heart.

More loving, or more loyal, never beat

Within a human breast. I would not change

My exird, persecuted, mangled husband —

Oppressed, but not disgraced, crushed, overwhelmed —

Alive or dead, for Prince or Paladin,

In storv or in fable — with a world

To back his suit /ts Dishonoured — He dishonoured !

I tell thee, Doge, 'tis Venice is dishonoured.

CONFLICTING VA^^ios&,^Shakespeare.

Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm
Invades us to the skin : — so 'tis to thee ;
But i where the greater malady is fixed,
The lesser is scsirce /elt. Thou'dst shun a bear ; . . .
But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea,
Thou'dst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind's free,
The body's delicate : the tempest ... in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else,
Save . . . what . . . beats there, /rs Filial ingratitude I . . .
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand
For lifling food to't? — But I -wWX punish homel/rs
No, I will vteep no more, /ts In such a night
To shut me out I . . . Pour on ; I will endure : /ts
In such a night as this ! O Regan — Goneril I—
Your old \i\nd father, whose frank heart gave all, . . .
O, that way madness lies : /tn let me shun that.
No more of that. — Prythee go in ; seek thine own ease ;
This tempest will not give me leave | to ponder
On things would hurt me^' more, — But I'll go in I —
In, boy; go first, /rs I'll /fay, and then I'll sleep. /^
Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm.
How shall your houseless heads, and unfed sides.
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you
From seasons such as these ? . . . O, I have ta'en

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 205

Too little care of this I /ts Take physic^ pomp ; —
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, . . .
That thou maj*st shake the superflux to them,
And show the heavens more just.

CONTEMPTUOUS REPROACH. — Shakespeare.

Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward ,
Thou little valiant, great in villany 1
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side !
Thou Fortune^ s champion, thou dost never fight
But when her humorous ladyship is hy
To teach thee safety I f7\ thou Sittperjur'd too,
And sooth'st up greatness. What ^.fool art thou,
A ramping fool; to brag, and stamp, and swear
Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave.
Hast thou not spoke like thunder, on my side . . .
Been sworn my soldier? bidding me depend
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength?. . .
And dost thou now | fall over to vay foesf f7\
Thou wear a lion^s hide ! doff it for shame.
And hang a calfs skin on those recreant limbs.

CONSTANCY. ^Milton .

Certain, my resolution is — to die.
How can I live without thee I how forego
Thy converse sweet, and love so dearly join*d>
To live again in these wild woods . . . forlorn !
Should God create another Eve, and I
Another rib afiford, yet loss of thee
Would never from my heart! no, no; I feel
The link of nature draw me ; flesh of my flesh.
Bone of. my bone thou art, and from thy state
Mine never shall be parted, . . . bliss or woe,

CONTRADICTION. — Lloyd,

** Here, Cicely, take away my gun :

How shall we have these starlings done ? "

** — Done ! what, my love? your wits are wild!

Starlings, my dear I theyVe thrushes, child."

" Nay, now, but look, consider, wife.

They're starlings," — '*No, upon my life !

Sure I can judge as well Visyou , , .

I hnow a thrush, and starling too.'' —

*' — ^Who was it shot them, you or I?

TheyVe starlings /"--*♦ Thrushes ! "— ** Wife . . . you /i>."—

** — Pray, Sir, take back your dirty word,

I scorn your language ... as your bird /

It ought to make a husband blush,

To treat a wife so . . . 'bout a . . . thrush. "

3o6 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

'' — Thrush, Cicely?"—** r^5."— ** A 5/flr/iV/"--**No."-
The lie again, and then . . . the blow.

CRAFTY ADVICE. — Rowe,

Learn to dissemble . . . ivrongs, to smile at injuries,

And suffer . . . crimes thou want*st the power to punish :-

Be easy, afifable, fsLmilisir^ friendly : —

Search, and know all mankind*s mysterious ways ;

Bui . . . trust the secret of Ihy soul | to none !

This is the way,

This only, to be safe in such a world as this is.

CRAFTY MALIGNITY. — Milton,

Let me not forget what I have gained

From their own mouths : All is not theirs, it seems ;

One fatal tree there stands, — of knowledge called, —

Forbidden them to taste. Knowledge forbidden ?

/TN Suspicious . . . reasonless ! Why should their Lord

Envy them that? Can it be sin to know?

Can it be death f And do they only stand

By ignorance f Is that their happy state—

The proof of their obedience and tneir faith ?

O, fair foundation laid | whereon to build

Their ruin I Hence I will excite their minds

With more desire to know ; and to reject

Envious command, invented with design

To keef them low, whom knowledge might exalt

Equal with gods : /cs Aspiring to be such . . .

They taste and die !

DEATH. — Toung.

Will toys amuse, when medicines cannot cure ?
When spirits ebb, when life's enchanting scenes
Their lustre lose, and lessen in our sight;
[As lands, and cities, with their glittering spires.
To the poor shattered bark, by sudden storms
Thrown off to sea, and soon to perish there ? |
Will toys amuse ? No : thrones will then be toys.
And earth and skies seem . . . dust upon the scale.

DESIRE AND DREAD OF DEATH, — Byron, ,

We Are fools — of time and terror: days
Steal on us, and steal from us ; yet we live.
Loathing our life, and dreading still to die. f^
In all the days of this detested yoke —
This vital weight upon the struggling heart,
I Which sinks with sorrow, or beats quick with pain,
Or joy that ends in agony or faintness — |

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 207

In all the days — of past and future, — for
In life there is no present, — we can number
How fevf^ how less than few — wherein the soul
Forbears to pant for death ; and yet . . . draws back
As from a stream in winter, though the chill
Be but a momenfs.

DESPAIR. — Byron,

To be thus—
Grey-hair'd with anguish^ like the blasted pines,
Wrecks of a single winter, barkless, branchless;
A blighted trunk upon a cursed root,
Which but supplies vl feeling to decay ; —
And to be thus eternally ; but thus,
Having been otherwise I Now furrow'd o'er
With wrinkles, plough'd by moments, not by years ;
And hours ... all tortured into ages — hours
Which I outlive ! <^ Ye toppling crags of ice —
Ye avalanches, — whom a breath draws down
In mountainous overwhelming — come and crush me I
I hear you — momently, above, beneath, —
Crash with a frequent conflict ; but . . ye pass.
And only fall | on things that still would live.

DISAPPOINTED ENVY. — Shakespeare.

Three great ones of the city.

In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,

*(9^cappM to him;— and by the faith of man,

I know ray price — I am worth no worse a place./rs

But he, as loving his own pride and purposes,

Evades them — with a bombast circumstance,

Horribly stufifed with epithets of war ;

And, in conclusion, nonsuits

My mediators ; for, certes, says he,

I have already \ chose my officer.

And what was he ? —

Forsooth, a great. . . arithmetician^

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine ... a fellow

That never seta squadron in the field.

Nor the division of a battle | knows

More than a spinster — unless the bookish theorick,

Wherein the toged consuls can propose

As masterly as he : — TCi&ve prattle, without practice,

Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election, /Cs

And /, — of whom his eyes had seen the proof ,

At Rhodes — at Cyprus— and on other grounds.

Christian and heathen, — must be be-lee*d and calm*d

* Saluted him — took off their caps.

208 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Heli

, in good time, must his Lieutenant be,
And /, (O, bless the mark I) his Moorship*8 . . . Ancient
But there's no remedy — 'tis the curse of service. /tn
Preferment goes by letter and affection ;
Not by the old gradation, where each Second
Stood heir to the First.

DISDAINFUL SCORN. — Byron.

I could not tame my nature down : for he

Must serve who fain would sway, — and soothe — and sue —

And watch all time, and pry into all place, —

And be /^> a living lie, — who would become

A mighty thing amongst the mean ;— and such

The mass are. — I disdained to mingle with

A herd, though to be leader, — and of wolves y

The lion \ is alone ^ and so am /.

DISGUST. — Sha kespea re.

There may be in the cup a spider steeped,

And one may drink, depart, and take no venom

For his knowledge is not infected ; — but

If one present the abhorred ingredient

To his eye — make known how he hath drunk,

He . . . cracks his gorge — his sides, with violent hefts /^\

/ . . . have drunk, and seen the spider !

DISINTERESTED LOVE. — y, Sheridan Knowle

Rank that excels its wearer, doth degrade ;

Riches impoverish that divide respect :

O, to be cherished for one^s self Silone I

To owe the love that cleaves to us, to naught

Which /or lune's summer — winter, — gives or takes;

To know that, while we wear the heart and mind,

Feature and form, high heaven endowed us with, —

Let the storm pelt us, or /air weather warm.

We shall he loved ! Kings, from their thrones cast down.

Have blessed their fate, that they were valued for

Themselves, and not their stations, when some knee

That hardly bowed to them in plenitude,

Has kissed the dust before them, stripped of all !

DISSEMBLED LOVE. — Shakespeare.

Think not I love him. though I ask for him;
'Tis but a peevish boy ; — yet he talks well: —
But what care I for words f yet words do well . . .
When he that speaks them pleases those that hear.
It is a pretty youth . . . not very pretty : —

^HE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 2O9

But. sure, \i^^ proud , . . and vet his pride becomes him . . .

He*ll make 9^ prefer man. ft\ The best thing in him

Is his complexion : and faster than his tongue

Did make offence, his eve \ did heal it up.

There was a pretty redfness in his lip ; . . .

A little riper and more lusty red

Than that mix'd in his cheek : 'twas just the difference

Betwixt the constant red and mingled damask, /^

There be some women, Silvius, had they mark'd him

In parcels as I did, would have gone near

To fall in love with him ; /r\ but, for my part,

I . . . love him not, /ts nor hate him not ; — and yet

I have more cause to hate him than to love him ;

For what had he to do to chide at me ?

He said, mine eyes were blacky and my hair black ;

And,— now I am remembered, — scorn d2it me : .'. .

I marvel why I answer d not again ; —

But that's all one ; omittance is no quittance,

DISTRUST. — Shakespeare,

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor / — and shalt be . . ,

What thou ?irt promis^ d : — Yet do I fear thy nature ;

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness ^

To catch the nearest way. /cs Thou wouidst be great ; —

Art not without ambition ; but without

The illness should attend it. What thou wouidst highly.

That wouidst thou holily; wouidst not flay false,

And yet wouidst wrongly win : thou'dst have, great Glamis,

That which cries, — Thus thou must do, if thou have it:

And that which rather thou diOz\.fear to do,

Than wishest should be undone, /tn Hie thee hither^ —

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;

And chastise with the valour of my tongue

All that impedes thee | from the golden round

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem

To have \ thee crown'd withal.

EMULATION IN ** GVSTiLYTY,''— Household Words,

Here's the . . . plumber-painter-and-glazier . . . come to take
the funeral order — which he is going to give to the sexton — ^who
is going to give it to the clerk — who is going to give it to the
carpenter — who is going to give it to the furnishing undertaker
— [who is going to divide it with the Black Jobmaster,

** Hearse ai^ /our. Sir?"— says he. — "No; o. pair will be
sufficient." — " I beg your pardon. Sir, but when we buried Mr.
Grundy, at number twenty, there were four. Sir ... I think it
right to mention it." — ** Well, perhaps there had better be four."
— '* Thank you, Sir." /rs

** Two coaches and four. Sir, shall we say ?"— ** No, coaches

3X0 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

and pair.** " You'll excuse my mentioning it, Sir, but pairs to
the coaches, and four to the hearse, would have a singular ap-
pearance to the neighhoursp When we put four to any things we
always carry four right through*^ — ** Well ! My four !'*-—»* Thank
you, Sir." fs\

" Feathers, of course f "— ** No \^No feathers. They're a*-
mrd:'^'' Very good. Sir; No feathers I"— »* No."—" Very good.

Sir. — We can do fours without feathers, Sir but it's what we

never do.* When we buried Mr. Grundy , we had feathers - - -
and — I only throw it out, Sir— Jlfrj. Grundy might think it
Strange."—** Very well I Feathers ! "— ** Thank you. Sir."

And so on through the whole . . . black job of jobs because of
. . . Mrs. Grundy and . . . ^^ gentility / "

BNCOURAGBMSNT. — Shakespeare.

Great Lord, wise men ne*er sit and wail their loss.
But cheerly seek law to redress their harms.
What though the mast be now thrown overboard.
The cable broke, the holding anchor lost,
And half our sailors swallowed in the flood ?
Yet lives our pilot still. Is't meet that he
Should leave the helm, and, like a fearful lad.
With tearful eye add water to the sea.
And give more strength to that which hath too much ;
While, in his moan, the ship split on a rock.
Which industry and courage might have saved f
Ah I what a shame ! Ah, tvhat a fault were this !

ENVIOUS CONTEMPT. — Shakespeare,

I was born free as Ccesar; so were you. /7s

We both have^i?^ as well ; and we can both

Endure the winter^s cold ... as well as he !

For once, upon a raw and gusty day,

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,

Csesar said to me, — Dar^st thou, Cassius, now

Leap in with me into this angry flood.

And swim to yonder point? Upon the word.

Accoutred 2i% I was — I plunged in,

And bade him follow : /ts so, indeed, he did.

The torrent roar'd ; and we did bufifet it

With lusty sinews ; throwing it aside

And stemming it with hearts of controversy ; . . .

But ere we could arrive the point proposed,

Caesar cried. Help me, Cassius, or I sink.

I — as -^neas, our great ancestor,

Did, from the flames of Troy, upon his shoulder

*This emphasis on a word already used in the sentence may seem a violation of
the Principle of Emphasis, but it is not so; ** do " is here equivalent to " do do "
at opposed to " can do."

THE LANGUAGE O^ PASSION. 2U

The old Anchises bear — so, from the waves of Tiber

Did I . . the tt'red Csesar ! /t\ And this man

Is now become a Gad! and Casstus is . . .

A wretched creature —and must bend his body

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. /t\

He had ^ fever when he was in Spain,

And, when the fit was on him, I did mark

How he did shake, . . . Tis true, —this g-od did shake.

His coward lips did from their colour fly;

And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world,

X>id lose its lustre : /rs I did hear him groan :

Ay, and that tongue of his, — that bade the Romans

Mark him, and write his speeches in their books, —

Alas, (it cried,) Give me some drinks Titinius . . .

As a sick girl. /t\ Ye gods I it doth amaze me,

A man of such z. feeble temper should

So get the start of the majestic world,

And bear the palm alone.

EXALTED MISERY. — Dowe.

royalty ! what joys hast thou to boast,
To recompense thy cares f Ambition seems
The passion of a God, Yet from my throne
Have I, with envy^ seen the naked slave
Rejoicing in the music of his chains,

And singing toil away ; and then at eve
Returning peaceful to his couch of rest : —
Whilst / I sat anxious ?indi perplexed with cares :
Projecting, plotting, fearful of event ;
Or, like a wounded snake, lay down to writhe
The sleepless night, upon a bed of state.

^^cui.vxTion. Shakespeare,

Friends, Romans, Countrymen ! lend me your ears ;

1 come to bury Cassar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them ;

The good \ is oft interred with their bones, /rs
So let it be with Caesar 1 /ts The noble Brutus
Hath told you, Caesar was ambitious —
If\t were so, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath Csesar answered it <s\
Here — under leave of Brutus . . . and the rest —
For Brutus is an honourable man . . .
So are they all ! all . . . honourable men —
Come / to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend— {?i\th.fu\ and just to me—
But Brutus says, he was ambitious . . .
And Brutus is an honourable man ! /cs
He hath brought many captives home to Rome ...
Whose ransoms did the general coflers fill :

212 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Did this in Cassar seem ambitious ?/ts
When that the poor have cried, Csesar hath wir//y—
Ambition should be made o^ sterner stuff! . . .
Yet Brutus says he vras ambitious ;
And Brutus is an honourable man I /ts
You all did see, that, on the Lupercal,
I, thrice, presented him a kingly crown^
Which he did thrice refuse : was this ambition ?
Yet Brutus sa3rB he was ambitious ...
And sure he 15 ... an honourable man ! /rs
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke ;
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once — not without cause ! .
What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him?'

Judgement I thou art fled to brutish beasts^
And men have lost their reason ! /tn Bear with me :
My heart is in the coffin there . . . with Caesar . . .
And I must pause ^^ till it come bach to me !

EXHORTATION AGAINST AMBITION. — Shakespeare,

Cromwell, fs\ I did not think to shed a tear

In all my miseries, . . . but thou h&st /orced me —

Out of thy honest truth j to play the woman, /ts

Let* s dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell f

And, — when I am forgotten ; ... as I shall be,

And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention

Of me more must be heard of, — say I taught thee,

Say, — Wolsey,— that once trod the vrays oi glory.

And sounded all the depths . . . and shoals of honour, —

Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ;

A safe and sure one, though thy master miss'd it.

Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me. /tn

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition;

By that sin fell the Angels: how can man then —

The image of his Maker, — hope to win by*t ?

Love thyself last / cherish those that hate thee :—

Corruption wins not more than honesty.

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace.

To silence envious tongues. "Btjust^ smd/ear not :

Let all the ends thou aim'st at— be thy country s,

Thy God*s, and truth's, /rs then, if thou falKst, O CromwelT,

Thou fairst a blessed martvr I Serve . . . the king /

And, . . . /cs pry thee, lead me in. /ts

There take an inventory of all I have, . . .

To the last penny, 'tis the kinf^s; my robe,

And my integrity to Heaven, is all .

1 dare — now— call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but served my God vrith half the zeal

I served my King, . . . He would not, in mine age
Have left me-r-naked — to mine tnemies.

THE LANGUAGE OP PASSION. 213

EXHORTATION TO COURAGE. — Shakespeare,

But wherefore do you droop f Why look you sad ?
Be great in act, as you have been in thought;
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust
Govern the motion of a kingly eye :
Threaten the threatener, and outface the brow
Of bragging horror; so shall inferior eyes,
jThat borrow their behaviours from the great, |
Grow great by your example ; /ts and put on
The dauntless spirit of resolution ;
Show boldness and aspiring confidence.
What, shall they seek the lion m his den,
And fright him . . . there ; — and make him tremble there f^-
Oh let it not be said ! /Cs Forage and run, . . .
To meet displeasure y«rM«r from the doors,
And grapple with him ere he come so nigh.

FARBWELrL TO GREATNESS. — Shakespeare.

Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness ! -

yrsThis is the state of man : — to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms.

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him :

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ;

And,— when he thinks, [good easy man, | full surely

His greatness is K-ripening^—mi^s his root,

And then . . . h^ falls . . . as — /do. ^^ I have ventured—^

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, —

These many summers, in a sea of glory . . .

But far beyond my depth, /rs My high-blown pride

At length oroke under me . . . and now has left me,

Weary, and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me. /ss

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye I

I feel my heart new open'd. /t\ O, how wretched

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours !

There is, betwixt that smile he would aspire to —

That sweet aspect of princes, and his ruin^

More pangs and fears than wars or women have /^

And — when he falls, he falls like Lucifer . . .

Never to hope again.

FEAR OF DEATH. — 27>«»^.

Why start at death? Where is he? Death arrived
Is past; not come, or ffone — he's never here*
Ere hope, sensation fails : black-boding man
Receives — not suffers — death's tremendous blow.
The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave,
The deep damp vault, the darkness, and the worm,—
These are the bugbears of a winter's eve,
The terrors of the livings not the dead.

214 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Imagination's fool, and error's wretch,
Man makes a death which Nature never made ;
Then on the point of his own fancy falls ;
And feels a thousand deaths in fearing one.

GRATITUDE. — Skakcspeare,

I have five hundred crowns, —
The thrifty hire I saved under your father,
Which I did store to be my foster-nxxr^Qj
When service should in my old limbs lie lame,
And unregarded age in corners thrown ; —
Take that : and . . . He that doth the ravens feed.
Yea, providently caters for the sparrow^
Be comfort to my age ! Here is the gold ;
All this Igive you. /cs Let me be your servant j^^
Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty :
For in my youth I never did apply
Hot and rebellious liquors to my blood ;
Nor did not, with unbashful forehead woo
The means of weakness and debility:
Therefore my age is as a lusty winter.
Frosty but kindly : /ts let me go with you . . .
Fll do the service of a younger man
In all your business and necessities.

GRIEF. — Byron,

He asked no question — all were answered now,

By the first glance on that still marble brow.

It was enough — she died — what recked it kowf

The love of youth, the hope of detter ye&rSf

The only livmg thing he could not hate,

Was reft at once : - and he deserved his fate . . .

But did not y^^/ it less. — The good \ explore

In peace— those realms where guilt can never sosLVt

The proud — the wayward — who have fixed below

Their joy— and find this earth enough for woe.

Lose in that one . . . their all — perchance a mite —

But who in patience parts with all delight?

Full many a stoic eye and aspect stern

Mask, . . hearts where grie/ h&th little left to learn ;

And many a withering thought lies hidj not lost,

In smiles . . . that least befit who wear them most.

GUILTY CONSCIENCE. — Byron.

The mind that broods o'er guilty woes,

Is . . . like the scorpion girt hy fire :
In circle narrowing as it glows.
The flames around their captive close ;

TKK LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 215

Till, inly searched by thousand throes

And maddening in her ire,
One, and a sole relief she knows :
The sting . . . she nourished for her foes,
[Whose venom never jet was vain,
Gives but one pang, and cures all pain, |
She darts into her desperate brain. /Cs
So do the dark in soul expire,
Or live ... like scorpion girt by fire ;
So writhes the mind remorse hath riven —
Unfit for earth, undoomed for heaven;
Darkness above, despair beneath,
Around it Jlame^ within it . . . death !

Why, get thee gone^ . . . horror and night go with thee I/^
Sisters of Acheron , go hand in hand.
Go dance about the bower, and close them in ;
And tell them that I sent you to salute them.
Profane the ground, and — for the ambrosial rose
And breath of jessamin,— let hemlock blacken
And deadly night-shade poison all the air :
For the sweet nightingale may ravens croak.
Toads pant, and adders rustle through the leaves :
May serpents^ winding up the trees, let fall
Their hissing necks upon them from above.
And mingle kisses . . . such as / would give them.

HONESTY TRUE NOBILITY. — AleX, Bell,

I shall not grieve your lordship by a claim

Of kindred blood, which often brings disgrace.

I prize gradations in the social scale :

They mainly tend to harmony and peace ;

But there exists a rank which far transcends

The stars and coronets that shine in courts :

It takes no sounding name to make men stare;

No blazoning heraldry proclaims its pomp;

Its modest title is — plain honesty.

Though homely be its garb, though coarse its fare,

And though it live unnoticed by the crowd ;

Still, spite of fashion's fools, the honest man

Is yet the highest noble of the land I

Yes, honesty's the poor man's best estate.

And still is his when other gifts take wing.

*Tis regal breath makes lords,, — but honest men

Receive their honour from the King of kings I

HONOUR. — Shakespeare.
Well, 'tis no matter; — honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if
honour prick me <?^when I come on } How then f Can honour

2l6 THB LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

set-to a le^f No. Or an arm f No. Or take away the grief
of a wound ? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery then ? No.
/Cs What is honour? A word. What is in that word ? Honour I
What 15 that honour? Air, rs\ A trim reckoning! rs\ Who hath
it? He that died o' Wednesday.— Doth he feel it? No.— Doth
he hear it? No. — Is it il^sensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But
will it not live with the living f No. Why? Detraction will
not suffer it: — therefore I'll none of it. — Honour is a mere
''scutcheon . . . and so ends my catechism.

IGNORANT CRITICISM. — Sterne,

"And how did Garrick speak the soliloquy last night?" — ** Oh,
against all rule^ my Lord ; most ungrammatically I Betwixt the
substantive and the adjective, which should agree together in
number, case, and gender, he made a breach thus— /Cs — stopping
as if the point wanted settling; and after the nominative case,
which Lyour Lordship knows | should govern the verb, he sus-
pended his voice in the epilogue, a dozen times, — three seconds
and three-ffthSf by a stop-watch, my Lord, each time." — "Ad-
mirable grammarian /"

" But I in suspending his voice was the sense suspended like-
wise? Did no expression of attitude or countenance fill up the
chasm ? Was the eye silent ? Did you narrowly look ?" — ** I . . .
looked only at the stop-watch, my Lord." — * '^ Excellent observer !"

O, of all the cants which are canted in this canting world, —
though the cant of hypocrisy may be the worst, — the cant of
criticism is the most tormenting ! — I would go fifty miles ... on
foot ... to hiss the hand of that man whose generous heart will
give up the reins of his imagination into his author^ s hands, be
pleased he knows not why, and cares not wherefore.

INCRSDULOUS HORROR.— Afr.<. NortOH,

Thou dost hxxt Jest — thou couldst not tell it me
So calmly, were it true ; thy lip would quiver.
Thine eye would shrink, thy hand would tremble,
Thy voice yroxxXA falter forth the horrid words-
Even as a tale of blood is ever told ;
Thy brow . . . but ah I that grave and gloomy smile
Sends a chill poison creeping through my veins I /rs
And yet it is not true I /rs He . . . dead ! Oh no I
Young, proud, brave, beautiful ; but yestemoon
The chief of thousands, who would all have given
Their life's-blood, drop by drop, for love of him. —
He could not die I— /?s Who told me he vras dead ? /Cs
Oh ! horrible dreams are maddening my poor brain . . .
Hark ! there are voices ringing through the air. —
They call thee . . . murderer ! /?s Thou answerest not I
* TVs true I— And now that rivulet of blood
Which flows between us, parts our souls for ever !

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 217

INDIFFERENCE. — Literary Treasury,

There was in our town a certain Tom Ne'er-do-well — an honest
fellow, who was brought to ruin by . . . too readily crediting that
care will kill a cat. Poor fellow f he never considered that he
was not a cat ; — and, accordingly, he made it a point not to care
for anything. He did not care for his father*s displeasure— 2ind
he was disinherited. He did not care for money — and he was
always distressed. He did not care for other people^ s feelings —
and he was severely winged in a duel. He did not care for a
notice to trespassers -Sind he walked into a man-trap. He did
not care for his wi/e — and she ran away from him. He did not
care for his health —Sind he became bedridden. He didn't care
. . . for any body — and every body left him to his sorrows, /ts
And lastly, he didn't care ... for himself^^nd he died in a
workhouse,

INDIGNANT CONTRAST. —Bu rns.

See yonder poor overlaboured wight,

So abject^ mean, and vile,
Who begs a brother of the earth

To give him leave to toil ;
And see his lordly fellow-worm

The poor petition spurn —
Unmindful though a weeping wife

And helpless offspring mourn.

If I'm designed yon lordling's slave —

By Nature's law designed —
Why was an independent wish

E'^er planted in my mind ?
If not, why am I subject \ to

His cruelty, or scorn ?
Or why has man the will, and power ^

To make his fellow mourn ?

INDIGNATION.— Af0<>re.

To think that man^ thou just and gentle God I

Should stand before Thee, with a tyranfs rod.

O'er creatures like himself, with souls from Thee,

Yet dare to boast of perfect liberty I

Away^ away ! /cs Td rather hold niy neck

By doubtful tenure from a Sultan's beck,

In climes where liberty has scarce been named^

Nor any right but that of ruling claimed.

Than thus to live, where bastard freedom | waves

Her fustian flag | in mockery . • . over slaves !

JEALOUSY. — Ska kespea re.

Think'st thou, I'd make a life of jealousy,
To follow still the changes of the moon

2l8 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

With /resA suspicions? No : to be once in doubt,

Is . . . once to be resolved, /cs Exchange me for a ^oai

When I shall turn the business of my soul

To such exsulHicate and blown surmises,

Matching ^Ay inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous,

To say . . . my wife \% fair— feeds well — loves company —

\%free of speech — sings— plays — and dances well.

Where virtue is, these are more virtuous! —

Nor, from mine own weak merits, will I draw

The smallest fear, or doubt of her revolt —

For, she had eyes and chose me. /C\ No, lago ; — i

I'll seCy before I doubt ; when I doubt . . . prove :

And, on the proof, there is no more but this, —

Away at once with love, or . . . jealousy,

JOY. — Shakespeare,

O I my soul's y^y /
If after every tempest come such calms.
May the winds blow . . . till they have wakened death!
And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas
Olympus high, and duck again as low
As heirs from heaven I /tn If it were now to die,
'Twere now to be most happy ; for I fear
My soul hath her content so absolute,
Tnat not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate.

JUSTIFICATION. — Shakespeare,
Romans, Countrymen, andLrOversI — Hear me for my cause;
and be silent that you may hear. Believe me, for mine honour:
and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe. Censure
me in your wisdom ; and awake your senses, that you mav the
better )udgQ, /ts If there be any in this assembly, any dQ2iT friend
of Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus* love to Caesar was no less
than his. If, then, that friend demand, why Brutus rose against
Caesar, this is my answer; — not that I loved Caesar less, but that
I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die
all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live 2A\ freemen f — As
Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortunate, I rejoice 2X
it ; as he was valiant, I honour him ; but ... as he was ambitious,
I slew him 1 There are /ts tears for his love, joy for his fortune,
honour for his valour, and death for his aml3ition I — Who's here
so base, that would be a bondman f if any, speak I for him have
I offended. Who's here so rude, that would not be a Roman? if
an V, speak I for him have I offended. Who's here so vile, that
will not love his country? if any, speak! for him /iaz;^ I offended.
— I pause for reply. /C\ None? then none have I offended!

LAUGHTER. — Shakespea re,
Kfool I /^ a fool ! — I met a fool i* th* forest . . '.
A motley fool ; — a miserable varlet ! —

THB LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 219

As I do live by food, I met a fool /rs
Who laid him down, and bask'd him in the sun,
And rail'd on Lady Fortune in ^^ood terms . . .
In good sei terms, — and yet a motley fool ;
* Good morrow, fool," quoth I; ** No, sir," quoth he;
'* Call me not fool, till heav'n hath sent me fortune ! " /t\
And then he drew a dial from his poke,
And — looking on it with lack-lustre eye —
Says very wisely . . . ** It is . . . ten o'clock ! " —
** Thus may we see" quoth he, ** how the world wags ;
'Ti^ but an hour ago since it was nine.
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven ! —
And so from hour to liour we ripe and ripe,
And then /Cn from hour to hour we rot and rot . . .
And . . ./^ thereby hangs a tale." When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer.
That fools should be so deep contemplative : —
And I did laugh, sans intermission.
An hour . . . by his dial. O noble fool I
A worthy fool I /Cn Motley's the only wear.

LISTENING. — Wordsworth,

I have seen
A curious child who dwelt upon a tract
Of iWaW ground, applying to his ear
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell ;
To which /CN in silence hushed /Cn his very soul
Listened intently; and his countenance soon
Brightened with joy ; for murmurings from within
Were heard — sonorous cadences ! whereby,
To his belief, the monitor expressed
Mysterious union with its native sea. /Cn
— Even such a shell the universe itself
Is to the ear of Faith,

LISTENING TO DISTANT MUSIC. — Republic of Letters.

What strain is this ^ that comes upon the sky

Of moonlight, as if yonder gleaming cloud
Which seems to wander to the melody,

Were 5^r<?/A-freighted ! — Now rzs it dies away
In a most far-off tremble /t\ and is still ;
Leaving a charmM silence on each hill

Flower-covered, and the grove's minutest spray.
Hark I /t\ one more dip of fingers in the wires I

One scarce-heard murmur , , , struggling into 80und>

And fading — like a sunbeam from the ground,
Or gilded vanes of dimly visioned spires !

But it hath tuned my spirit, which will recall

Its magic tones, in memory treasured all.

220 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

LOWLINESS OF MIND. — H. AT. White.
O ! I would walk
A weary journey, to the farthest verge
Of the big worlds to kiss that good man's hand,
Who, in the blaze of wisdom and of art.
Preserves a lowly mind; and to his God, —
Feeling the sense of his own littleness, —
Is as a child in meek simplicity ! /^
What is the pomp oi learning' ? the parade
Of letters and of tongues ? /^ Even as the mists
Of the grey morn before the rising sun.
That pass away and perish. — Earthly things
Are but the transient pageants of an hour ;
And enrthly pride is like the pstss'ing Jlower,
That springs ... to /all, and blossoms dut to die.

MALICIOUS REVENGE. — Shakesfieare.
There I have another bad match : a bankrupt ^ a prodigal, who
dare scarce show his head on the Rialto; — a beggar^ that used
to come so smug yxpon the mart; — let him look to his bond I he
was wont to call me . . . usurer ; — let him look to his bond I he
was wont to lend money for a . . . Christian courtesy ; — let him
look to his bond I /tn He hath disgraced me, and hinder'd me of
half a million ; laughed at my losses, — mock'd at my gains, —
ficorn'd my nation, — thwarted my bargains, — cooVd my friends,
— heated mine enemies ; /Cn And what's his reason ^ I . . . am ... a
yew :^ Hath not a Jew eyes ? hath not a Jew hands? organs, di-
mensions, senses, affections, passions f—fed with the same food,
^«r/ with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heaVd
by the same means, warm*d and cool'd by the same winter and
summer as a . . . Christian is ? If you prick us, do we not bleed ?
if you tickle us, do we not laugh r if you poison us, do we not
die / and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge f /tn If we are like
you in the rest, we will resemble you in that, /rv If a Jew wrong
a Christian, what is his . . . humility ^—Revenge. If . . . a Chris-
tian . . . wrong ... a Jew, what should his . . . sufferance be, by . . .
Christian example f — Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me,
I will execute : and it shall go hard, but I will better the instruc-
tion.

MATERNAL LOVE. — A. Bethune.

Unlike all other earthly things,—
Which ever shift and ever change, —

The love which a fond Mother brings.
Nought earthly can estrange.

All that by mortal may be done

A mother ventures for her son.

If marked by worth and merit high.

Her bosom beats with ecstacy ;

And though he own nor worth nor charm,

To him her faithful heart is warm :

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 221

Though -wayward passions round him close,
And fame 9Jid fortune prove his foes;
Through every change of good and iU
C/iichanged, ... a mother loves him siilL
And when those kindred cords are broken

Which twine around the heart ; —
When friends iYiW farewell word have 6poken»

And to the grave depart : —
When parents, brothers, husband, die, . . .

And desolation only
At every step meets her dim eye.

Inspiring visions lonely : —
Love's last and longest root below,
Which widowed mothers only know.
Watered by each successive grief.
Puts forth a fresher, greener leaf.
Divided streams unite in one.
And deepen round her only son ;
And when her early friends -are gone,
She lives and breathes in him alone.

MELANCHOLY REFLBCTioNS. — Shakespeare*

Poor lord I is*t /
That chase thee from thy^ country, and expose
Those tender limbs of thine to the event
Of the none-sparing war f and is it I
That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou
Wast shot at with fa^r eyes^ to be the mark
Of smoky muskets f O you leaden messengers.
That ride upon the violent speed of fire.
Fly ^\\^ false aim; move the still-piercing air.
That sings with piercing . . . Do not touch my lord //7v
Whoever shoots at him, / set him there :
Whoever charges on his forward breast,
I am the caitiff that do hold him to it ;
And, though I kill him not, I am the cauee
His death was so effected./rs Better 'twere
I met the raven lion — ^when he roar*d
With sharp constraint of hunger ; better 'twere
That all the miseries which nature owes,
Were mine at once ... I will be gone.^
My being here it is that holds him hence ;
Shall I stay here to do't? No, no, although
The air oi paradise did fan the house.
And angels officed all ! /ts I will be gone.

MERCY. — Shakespeare,

The quality of mercy is not strained ;

It droppeth, as the gentle rain [from heaven

Upon the place beneath : | It is twice bless'd ;—

322 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

It blesseth him that gives^ and him that takes :

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

The thronfed monarch better than his crown :

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, —

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread andyfear of kings; —

But mercy i« above this scepter*d sway ;

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings ;

It is an attribute of God himself:

And earthly power doth then show lihest God's,

When mercy seasons justice,

MISERY IN KOYAL.TY,^ Shakespeare.

Of comfort , . , no man spe^ :
Let's talk of graves^ of worms, and epitaphs;
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes
Write Sorrow on the bosom of the earth.
Let's choose executors, and talk of wills . . .
And yet not so, — for what can we bequeath,
Save our deposed bodies to the ground ?
Our lands, our lives, and all . . . are Bolingbroke^ s ;
And nothing can we call our own . . . but death,,
And that small model of the barren earth
Which serves as paste and cover to our bones.
For heaven's sake, let us sit upon the ground,
And tell sad stories of the death of kings : —
How some have been deposed,— some slain in war ; —
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed; —
Some poison'd by their wives, — some sleeping kill'd ; —
All murder'd ;/t\ for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court : and there the antic sits,
Scoring his istate, and grinning at his pomp ;
Allowing him a breath, a little scene
To monarchize, be fear'd, and kill with looks;
Infusing him with self and vain conceit, —
As </*. . . this flesh, which walls about our life.
Were brass impregnable ;^ and humour'd thus,
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and . . .farewell kingl/ss
Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood
With solemn reverence ; throw away . . . respect.
Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty, —
For you have but mistook me all this while./^
I live with bread like you, feel want, taste grief,
"Need friends : — /Ts subjected thus.
How can you say to me I am a king ?

MUSIC . — Sha kespea re.
Note but a wild and wanton herd.
Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 223

Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud,

[Which 18 the hot condition of their blood ; /rs

If they perchance but hear a trumpet sound,

Or any air of music touch their ears,

You shall perceive them /tn make a mutual stand,/r\

Their savage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze,

By the sweet power of music. — ^Therefore, the poet

Did feign, that Orpheus drew trees^ stones^ and Jioods ; —

Since naug-ht so stockish, hard, and full of rage,

But music, for the time, doth change his nature.

The man that hath no music in himself,

Nor is not mov^d with concord of sweet sounds,

Is fit for treasons^ stratagems, and spoils; —

The motions of his spirit are dull as night.

And his affections dark as Erebus :

Let no such man be trusted,

MUTABILITY OF LOVE. — Moore.

Alas I how light a cause may move
Dissension between hearts that love I —
Hearts that the world in vain had tried.
And sorrow but more closely tied I
That stood the storm —when waves were rough-
Yet, in a sunny hour fall off; —
Like ships that have gone down at sea,
When heaven was all tranquillity I rs\
A something, light as air — a look^

A word ... unkind, or wrongly taken —
Oh ! Love, that tempests never shook,

A breath, a touch like this, hath shaken.
And ruder words will soon rush in,
To spread the breach that words begin ; —
And eyes forget the gentle ray
They wore in courtship's smiling day; —
And voices lose the tone that shed
A tenderness round all they said . . .
Till, — fast declining — one by one
The sweetnesses of Love are ^-one : —
And hearts, so lately mingled, seem
Like broken clouds, — or like the stream
That smiling left the mountain's brow.

As though its waters ne^er could sever.
Yet — ere it reach the plains below—

Breaks . . . into floods that part for ever,

NATURAL FREEDOM. — Cowper,

But slavery! virtue dreads it as \\ex grave ^
Patience itself is meanness in a slave :
Or, — if the will and sovereignty of God
Bid suffer it awhile^ and kiss the rod,^

224 '^^^ LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Wait for the downing of a brighter day,
And snap the chain the moment that yon may.
Nature imprints upon whatever we see
That has a heart and life in it — he free !

PERVERSITY. — COURTING A SHREW. — Shakespeare,

I will attend her here, —
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say, that she rail . . . why, then, Til tell her plain,
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale, /C\
Say, that %\\efroivn . . . Fll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly wash'd with dew. /tn
Say, she be mute, and will not speak a word, ...
Then Fll commend her volubility,, —
And say — she uttereth piercing eloquence.
If she do bid vae pack . . . Fll give her thanks, —
As though she bid me stay by her a week :/7\
If she deny to wed, . . . Fll crave the day
When I shall ask the bans, and when be married.

PITY. — Crabbe.
What cutting blast ! and he can scarcely crawl :
'Unfreezes as he moves, — he dies if he should fall I
With cruel fierceness drives this icy sleet . . .
And must a Christian perish ... in the street,
In sight of Christians ?/t\ There ! at last, he lies, —
Nor, unsupported, can he ever rise. —
He cannot live. — In pity do behold
The man afFrightened, weeping, trembling, cold :
Oh ! how those flakes of snow their entrance win
Through the poor rags, and keep the frost within I
His very heart seems frozen, as he goes
Leading that starved companion of his woes.
He tried to pray — his lips, I saw them move,
And he so turned his piteous eyes above ;
But the fierce wind the willing heart opposed,
And, ere he spoke, the lips in misery closed.
Poor suffering object ! yes, for ease you prayed.
And God will hear, — He only, Fm afraid, /tn
When reached his home, to what a cheerless fire
And chilling bed will those cold limbs retire !
Yet ragged, wretched as it is, that bed
Takes iia//* the space of his contracted shed.
I saw the thorns beside the narrow grate.
With straw, collected in a putrid state :
There will he, kneeling, strive the fire to raise,
And that will warm him, rather than the blaze ;
The sullen, smoky blaze, that cannot last
One moment after his attempt is past : /ts
And /, so warmly and so purely laid.
To sink to rest! . . . indeed, I am afraid!

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 225

POVERTY. — Hartley Coleridge.

*Ti8 sweet to see
The £/ay-dawn creeping gradual through the sky :
The silent sun at noon is bright and fair.
And the calm eve is lovely ; but 'tis sad
To sink at eve on the dark dewy turf.
And feel . . . that none in all that countless host
Of glimmering stars, beholds one little spot,
One humble home of thine. The vast void sky,
In all its trackless leagues of azure light,
Has not one breath of comfort for the wretch
Whom houseless penury enfranchises ;
A brother freeman of the midnight owl^
A sworn acquaintance of the howling winds.
And flaggy pinion'd rain.

PRAYER. — Tennyson .

More things are wrought hy praytr
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice
Rise like vl fountain forme night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats^
That nourish a blind life within the bram,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer,
Both for themselves and those who call them friend ?
For so, the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of (aod.

PROUD INDEPENDENCE. — Shahespeare,

Your grace shall pardon me, — I will not back ;

I am too high born to be propertied ;

To be a secondary^dX control,

Or useful serving-man and instrument

To any sovereign state throughout the world.

Your breath first hindled the dead coal of wars

Between this chastised kingdom and myself,

And brought in matter that should /<?«</ this fire:—

And now *tis far too huge to be blown out

With that same weak wind that enkindled it.

You taught me how to know the face of right,

Acquainted me with interest to this land :

Yea thrust this enterprise into my heart ;

And come ye now to tell me John hath made

His peace with Rome ? What is that peace to me f

I, by the honour of mv marriage-h^di^

After young Arthur, claim this land for mine ;

And, now it is half conquered^ must I back, . . .

Because that "John hath made his peace with Rome?**

Ajn / Rome's slave? What/*»»y hath Rome borne, —

226 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

What men provided, — what munition sent,
To Mnd^r-profi this action? Is*t not /
That undergo this charge ? Who else but I, —
And such as to m^ claim are liable,
Sweat in this business, and maintain this war?
Have I not here the best cards for the game,
To win this easy match played for a crown ?
And shall I now give <>*cf the yielded set?—
No, on my soul ; it never shall be said.

RAVING. — Dickens,

** Nobody shall go near her," said the man, starting fiercely up^
as the undertaker approached the recess. **Keep back! keep
back I if youVe a life to lose."

*' Nonsense, my good man." said the undertaker, who was pretty
well used to misery in all its shapes—" nonsense! "

**I tell you ^^"^ said the man — clenching his hands, and stamp-
ing furiously on the floor, — ** I tell you I wonU have her put into
the ground I She couldn't rest there. The worms would worry
— not eat her, — she is so worn ayfuy.**

The undertaker offered no reply to this raving ; but, producing-
a tape from his pocket, knelt down for a moment by the side of
the body.

*' Ah I " said the man,— bursting into tears, and sinking on kis
knees at the feet of the dead woman ; — ^* kneel down^ kneel down ;
kneel round her, every one of you, and mark my words. I say,
she starved to death. I never knew how bad she was, till the
fever came upon her, and then /tn her bones were starting through
the skin. There was neither fire nor candle ; she died in the
dark — in the dark! She couldn't even see her ckildreu^s faces,
though we heard her gasping out their names.^ss I begged ior her
in the streets,/Ts and . . . they sent me to frison ! When I came
back, she was dying; and all the blood in my heart is dried up,
for they starved her to deatk ! I swear it before Heaven that
saw it, — tYiQy starved h^rl'** He twined his hands in his hair,
and, with a loud scream, rolled grovelling upon the floor; his
eyes fixed, and the foam gushing from his lips.

REBELLION. — Moore.

Rebellion I foul diskonouring word.

Whose wrongful blight so oft has stained
The holiest cause that tongue or sword

Of mortal ever lost or gained.
How many a spirit, born to bless,

Hath sunk beneath that withering name, —
Whom but a day's, an hour's success.

Had wafted to eternsil fame!
As exkalations, when they burst
From the warm earth, if ckilled at first,

THE 1.ANGUAGB OF PASSION. ZZ*J

If checked in soaring from the plain,
Darken to fogs, and sihA again ;—
B^f, — if they once triumphant spread
Their wings above the mountain-head —
Become enikroned in upper air,
And turn to sun-bright glories there I

REGRETFUL PITY. — Skakespeare,

Alas ! poor Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio : a fellow of infinite
fest^ of mo&t excellent fancy ; he hath borne me on his back a
thousand times ; and now . . . how abhorred in my imagination it
is ; /TN my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have
kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now ? Your
gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were
wont to set the table on a roar f Not one now ... to mock your
CTvn grinning? ^uite chop-fallen ? /rv Now get you to my lady^s
chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour
she . . . must come ; make her laugh ... at that.

RBJBCTING COUNSEL.— 5ila>&«5/«ar«.

I pray thee, cease thy counsel, —
Which falls into mine ears as profitless
As water in a sieve ; give not me counsel ;
Nor let no comforter delight mine ear . . .
But . . . such a one whose wrongs do suit with mine.
Bring me a father that so loved his child.
Whose joy of her is overwhelmed like mine,
Anji bid him speak of patience, /^n
Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine.
And let it answer every strain for strain ;
As thus for thus, and such a grief for such.
In every lineament, branch, shape, and form . . .
If such a one will smile, and stroke his beard ;
Cry — Sorrow, wag ! and hem when he should groan ;
Patch grief with proverbs ; . . . bring him yet to me,
And I of him will gather patience.
But there is no such man ; /^ for men
Can counsel, and speak comfort to that grief
Which they themselves not feel ; but, tasting it,
Their counsel turns to passion — which before
Would give preceptial medicine to rage —
Fetter strong madness in a silken thread —
Charm ache with air — and agony with words . , .
Noy no ; 'tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of sorrow :
But no man's virtue, nor sufficiency,
To be so moral, when he shall endure
^ The like himself: therefore give me no counsel : /tn
My griefs cry louder than advertisement

228 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

REMEMBERED LOVE. — Hon, Mrs. Norton.
Oh, while the heart, where her head hath lain
In its hours of joy, in its. sighs of pain ;
While the kand^ which so oft hath been clasped in hers.
In the twilight hour, when nothing stirs, —
Beat with the deep full pulse of life;
Can ht forget his departed wife?
Many may loVe him, and ke^ in truth,
May love, but not with the love of his youth ;
Ever, around his joy, will come
A stealing sigh for that long-loved home ;
And her step and her voice will go glidin^ly by,
In the desolate halls of his memory !

REMONSTRANCE— WITH INDIGNATION. — MrS. Hemans.

What ! let the foe engird us— that our bands

May rest f Forget that last disastrous dav !

Forget it ! Rest I Bethink you, noble knights.

Whence we must now draw strength I send down your thoughts

Into the very depths of grief and shame^

And bring back courage thence ! To talk of rest I /tn

How do they rest, unburied on their field,

Our brethren, slain by Gaza? Had we time

To give them funeral rites ? and ask we now

Time to forget their fall? ^y father died. . . .

I cannot speak of him ! . . . What ! and forget

The infidePs fierce tramfling o'er our dead ?

Forget his scornful shout ? /^ give battle now.

While the thought lives, z^fire lives ! There lies strength I

Hold the dark memory jfast ! Now, now — this hour ;

Gather your forces to the western gate !

Let none forget that day ! Our field was lost —

Our city's strength laid low, — one mighty heart, —

Your ChiePs . . . my father's — broken ! Oh ! let none

Forget it ! Arm ! Way for remorse ! Arm I arm !

Free way for vengeance !

REMORSE—FOR COMMITTING MURDER. — Shakespeare*
O, my offence is rank ... it smells to heaven ; —
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, —
A brother's murder ; /rs Pray can I not.
Though inclination be as sharp as 'twill
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;
And — like a man to double business bound, —
I stand in pause where I shall first begin . . .
And both neglect, /ts What if this cur6& hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood ?
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow f Whereto serves mercy>
But to confront the visage of offence ?

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 229

And what's in prayer ^ but this two-fold force, —

To be forestalled ere we come to fall,

Orpardon'd, being Aovm} Then I'll look up,

My fault is past. But, O, \ihsXform of prayer

Can serve my turn ?. . . Forgive me . . . my foul murder / . . .

That cannot be, since I am still possessM

Of those effects for which I did the murder —

My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.

May one be pardon'd, and retain the offence ?/ts

In the corrupted currents oi this world.

Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice ; —

And oft 'tis seen, the wicked prize itself

Buys out the laiv. But 'tis not so above —

There is no shuffling— there the action lies

In his true nature ; and we ourselves compell'd.

Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,

To give in evidence. What then? what rests ?/ts

Try what repentance can : . . . what can it not f

Yet what can it, when one can not repent?

O wretched state? O bosom, black as death t

limed soul, that, struggling to be free.

Art more engaged ! Help^ angels I /ts Make essay / . . .
Bow, stubborn knees t and heart, with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the new born babe, n\
All may be well !

RBMORSE — FOR DRiTNKBNNSSS. — Shakespeare,

1 remember ... a mass of things . . . but nothing distinctly: a
quarrel . . . nothing wherefore, O that men should put an enemy
in their mouths to steal away their brains ! that we should . . .
with joy, pleasure, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into
beasts ! I will ask him for my place again ... he shall tell me I
am ... a drunkard, /tn Had 1 as many months as Hydra^ such an
answer would stop them all. /ts To be now a sensible man, by and
bye 2ifool^ and presently ... a beast t n\ O stran|;e ! every inor-
dmate cup is unblessed— and the ingredient ... is a devil!

RSMORSKLESS HORROR. — BailUe ,

Alone , . . with thee I but thou art nothing now.

*Tis donet — 'tis numbered with the things o'erpast ;

Would — would it were to come ! —

What fated end, what darkly gathering cloud,

Will close on all this horror?

O, that dire madness would unloose my thoughts,

And fill my mind with wildest fantasies.

Dark, restless, terrible ! Aught ^ aught . . . but this I /^

How with convulsive life he heaved beneath me,

E'en with the death's wound gored ! O horrid^ horrid I

Methinks I feel him still. /r\ What sound is that?

230 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

I heard a smothered groan, /tn It is impossible ! . . •

It moves ! It moves ! the cloth doth heave and swelK

It moves again t I cannot suffer this, —

Whatever it be, I will «ffcover it. /^

All still beneath.

Nought is there here but fixed and grisly death.

How sternly fixed I Oh ! those glazed eyes !

They look upon me still.

Comej madness ! come unto me, senseless deatk !

I cannot suffer this I

REPROACH WITH WANT OF FRIENDSHIP. — SkakeSpCaVe*

You have done . . . that, you should be sorry for.
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats;
For I am arm*d so strong in honesty ^
That they pass by me as the idle wind,
Which I respect not. I did send to you
For certain sums of gold, which ^oii; . . . denied me ;
For / can raise no money by vile means ;
No, Cassius, I had rather coin my heart,
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash
By any indirection. I did send
To you for gold ... to pay my legions,
Which you . . . denied me. /ts Was that done like Cassius ?
Should / have answered Caius Cassius so ?
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous.
To lock such rascal-counters from his friends,
Be read^, gods, with all your thunderbolts,
Dash him to pieces !

REPROACH, WITH WANT OF MANLINESS. — Shakespeare^

O proper stuf!
This is the very painting of yoxxx fears;
This is the .. . . ««>-drawn dagger, which you said
Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts
(^Impostors to true fear) would well become
A ivoman^s story, at a winter's fire,
Authorized by . . . her grandam. /tn Shame itself I
Why do you make such faces ? When all's done,
You look but on a stool,

REPROACH WITH STUPIDITY AND INCONSTANCY.

That Caesar comes in triumph /
Wherefore rejoice ? — What conquest brings he home ?
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels ?
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things I /rv

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 23 1

O, you hard hearts, jrou cruel men of Rome. —
Knew ye not Pompey f Many a time and oft
Have you climbed up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney tops^ —
Your infants in your arms, — and there have sat
The live-long day, with patient expectation,
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome :
And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made a universal shout.
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks,
To hear the replication of your sounds.
Made in her concave shores ? . . .
And do you now put on your best attire ?
And do you now cull out a holiday f
And do you now strevrjlowers in his way
That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood
Be ^one ! <!\

Run to your houses ; fall upon your knees ;
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague.
That needs must light on this ingratitude.

REPROOF OF SERVILITY. — Byron.

Approach, thou craven crouching slave t

Say, is not this Thermopylce f
These waters blue that round you lave —

O servile offspring of the /r^^ —
Pronounce what sea, what shore is this : /tn
The gulf, the rock of Salamis I fss
These scenes, their story not unknown.
Arise, and make again your own :
Snatch from the ashes of your sires
The embers of their former fires :
And he who in the strife expires
Will add to theirs a name of fear
That Tyranny shall quake to hear :
And leave his sons a hope,^ a fame.
They too will rather die than shame !
For Freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son.
Though baffled oft, is ever \ won,

SAD FOREBODING. — Shakespeare,

This man's brow, like to a titleAesif,

Foretells the nature of a tragic volume

'^ofrig-ht our party. — How does my son, and brother f

Thou tremblest, and the whiteness of thy cheek

Is apter than thy tongue to tell thy errand. /C\

Even such a man, — so faint, so spiritless,

So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, —

232 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Drew Priam^s curtain in the dead of night,

And would have told him, half his Troy was burn*d . . .

But Priam yb««rf the fire, ere he his tongue;—

And I . . . my Percy's deaths ere thou report'st it.

This thou would*st say. Your son did thus, and thus;^

Your brother, thus : so— fought the noble Douglas ;

Stopping my greedy ear with their bold deeds . . .

But in the end, — to stop mine ear indeed ^ —

Thou hast a sigh to blow away this praise,

Ending with — brother, son, apd all , . . are dead.

SARCASTIC KXPOSTULATiON.SAakespeare.

Signior Antonio, many a time— and oft

On the Biallo—you have rated me

About my moneys, and my usances : /?n

Still have I borne it with a patient shrug ;

For sufferance is the badge of a// our tribe.

You call vciQ— misbeliever, cut-throat — dog.

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine . . .

And all for use of that which is mine own.

Well, then, it now appears you need my help :

Go to, then ; you come to me, and you say.

Shy lock, we would have moneys ; . . . Ton sAy so ;

You, . . . that did void your rheum upon my beard.

And foot me, as vou spurn a stranger cur

Over your thresnold ; Moneys is your suit ! /ts

What should I say to you ? Should I not say

Hath a dog money? is it possible

A cur can lend three thousand ducats } or, . . ,

Shall I bend low, and in a bondsman* s key,

pWith bated breath, and whispering humbleness, |

Say this, —

Fair sir, you . . . spit on me on Wednesday last ;

You spurned me . . . such a day ; another time

You called me . . . dog ; and K>r these . . . courtesies

rU . . . lend you thus much moneys.

SCORN. — Byron.

Pardon is for men.
And not for reptiles, — ^we have none for Steno,
And no resentment ; things like him must sting,
And higher beings suffer, — 'tis the charter
Of life. The man who dies by an adder's fang
May have the crawler crushed, but feels no anger ;
'Twas the worm's nature : and some men are worms
In soul . . . more than the living things of tombs.

SELFISH HATRED— Shakespeare.

How like a f&wmng publican he looks !
I hate him /Cn for he is a . . . Christian :

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 233

But morei for that, in low simplicity,

He lends out money ^rff/M,— and brings down

The rate of usance here with us, in Venice.

If I can catch him once upon the hip,

I will {ted fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

He hates our sacred nation, and he rails, —

Even there where merchants most do congregate. —

On me, my bargains, and my well won thrift,

Which he calls . . . interest : /tn Cursed be my tribe.

If I forgive him !

SHUFFLING REFUSAL. — Shakespeare.

They answer in a joint and corporate voice,

That now they are at fall, — want treasure, — cannot

Do what they would . . . are sorry ; . . . vou are honourable . . .

But yet . . . they could have wished. . . they know not . . .

Something hath been amiss ... a noble nature

May catch a wrench . . . would 2X\ were well . . . *tis/iVy. ^9\

And so, intending other serious matters,

After distasteful looks, and these hard fractions,

With certain half-csipB, and cold moving nods,

They froze me into silence.

SICKNESS. — Shakespeare.

And wherefore should this good news make me sick f

I should rejoice now at this happy news,

And now my sight fails, and my brain is gidd^, . . .

me ! . . . come near me, . . . now I am much ill. ^s\

1 pray you take me up, and bear me hence
Into, some other chamber. ^s\ Softly, pra^r —
Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends, —
Unless some dull and favourable hand

Will whisper music to my weary spirit

SORROW CAUSING FORGETFULNRSS.— 5Afl>tC5/earc.

Yet one word more :— grief houndeth where it falls, . . .

Not with an empty hollowness, but weight ;

I take my leave before I have begun.

For sorrow ends not when it seemeth done ; —

Commend me to my brother, Edmund York —

Lo, this is all : . . . nay, yet depart not so ;

Though this be all . . . do not so quickly go. ^^

I shall remember more. Bid him . . . Oh, what f ^9\

With all good speed at Plashy visit me. <^

Alack, and what shall good old York there see,

But empty lodgings, and unfurnished walls,

Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones ?

And what hear there for welcome but my groans f

234 '^"^ LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Therefore commend me ... let him not come there —
To seek out sorrow that dwells every where ;
Desolate^ desolate I I will hence, and die ."^
The last leave of thee takes my weeping eye.

STERN REPROACH. — Shakespeare,

Enforced thee ! art thou king, and wilt be forced ?
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch I
Thou hast undone . . . thyself, thy son, and me; ^
And given unto the house of Tork such head
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
What is it but to make thy sepulchre^
And creep into it far before thy time?
Warwick is i:hancellor, and the lord of Calais ;
Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas ;
The Duke is made protector of the realm,
And yet shalt thou be safe / Such safety finds
The trembling lamb environM with wolves.
Had /been there, which am a silly woman,
The soldiers should have tossed me on t\\^\r pikes
Before I would have granted to that act.
But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour.
And, seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself—
Both from thy table, Henrj', and thy bed, —
Until that act of parliament be repealed
Whereby my son is disinherited.
The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours.
Will follow mine^ if once they see them spread :
And spread they shall be ; to thy foul disgrace,
And utter ruin of the house of York. /t\
Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let's away.

SULLENNESS. — ^yr<?».

I have not loved the world, nor the world me ;

I have noX. flattered its rank breath, nor bowed

To its idolatries 2i patient knee,— f^

Nor coin*d my cheeks to smiles, — nor cried aloud

In worship of an echo ; Xn the crowd

They could not deem me one of such ; I stood

Among them, but not <7/"thehi; in a shroud

Of thoughts which were not their thoughts ; — and still could.

Had I not flled my mind, which thus /V5e//" subdued.

I have not loved the world, nor the world me, —

But let us p&rt fair foes. I do believe —

Though I hz.ve found them not — that there may be

Words which are things — hopes which will not deceive,

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 235

And virtues which are merciful, nor weave
Snares for the failinpf : I would also deem,
O'er others* griefs, that some sincerely grieve ;
That two," or one, are almost what they seem, —
That goodness is no name^ and happiness no dream,

SUSPICION. — Shakespeare,

Let me have men about me that are yb/;

5/<?«X*-headed men, and such as sleep o'nights :

Yond* Cassius has a lean and hungry look ;

He thinks too much :— such men are dangerous,

'Would he were fatter! . . . But I fear him not :

Yet if my name were liable to fear,

I do not know the man I should avoid

So soon as that spare Cassius. /r\ He reads much ;

He is a great observer^ and he looks

Quite through the deeds of men : he loves no piays^

As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music :

Seldom he smiles ; and smiles in such a sort.

As if he mock'd himself, — and scorn'd his spirit

That could be mov'd to smile at any thing, /tn

Such men as he | be never at heart's ease

While they behold a greater than themselves ;

And therefore are they very dangerous. /^

I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd,

Than what / fear . . . for always I am . . . Cscsar. ^s\

Come on my right hand. — for this ear is deaf, —

And tell me truly what thou think'st of him.

SYMPATHY, WITH ADMIRATION. — Baillic,

O! I have seen a sight, 2i glorims sight!

Thou would'st have smiled to see it —

Yes, smil'd ! although mine eyes are wet with tears.

Faith, so they are; well, well, but /smiled too.

O, had you seen it !

Drawn out in goodly ranks — there stood our troops ;

Here, in the graceful state of manly youth,

His dark face brightened with a generous smile, —

Which to his eyes such flashing lustre gave,

As though his soul, like an unsheathed sword.

Had through them gleamed — our noble General stood ;

And to his soldiers, with ^*?ar/-moving words

The veteran showing, his brave deeds rehearsed ;

Who, by his side stood like a storm-sc^th^d oak

Beneath the shelter of some noble tree.

In the green honours of its youthful prime,

I cannot tell thee how the veteran looked!

At first he bore it up with cheerful looks.

As one -who fain would wear his honours bravely,

And greet the soldiers with a comrade's face :

236 THB LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

But when Count Basil, in such moving speech,

Told o'er his actions past, and bade his troops

Great deeds to emulate, his countenance changed ;

High heaved his manly breast, as it had been

By inward strong emotion half- coftvuls' d ;

Trembled his nether lip; he shed some tears^

The General paus'd— the soldiers shouted loud ;

Then hastily he brushed the drops aivay.

And wav'd his hand, and clear'd his tear-chok'd voice.

As though he would some grateful answer make ;

When back with double force the whelming tide

Of passion came ; high o*er his hoary head

His arm he toss'd, and. heedless of respect,

In Basil's bosom hid his aged face,

Sobbing aloud. /t\ From the admiring ranks

A cry arose ; still louder shouts resound ; /r\

I felt ... a sudden tightness grasp my throat

As it would strangle me ; such as I felt, —

I knew it well, — some twenty years ago,

When my good father shed his blessing on me.

I hate to weep, and so I came away.

TERROR. — Moliere.

Ah! mercy on my soul! What is that? — My old friend's. . .
ghost ? They say none but -wicked folks w-a-lk ... I wish I
were at the bottom of a coal-fit, /^n La ! how pale and long his
face is grown since his death : he never was handsome : and
death has improved him very much the wrong way /t\ Pray . . .
do not come near me ! — I wished you very well when you were
alive ; — ^but I could never abide a dead man cheek-by-jowl with
me , , . Ah ! — Ah — mercy on us ! . . . No nearer, pray !/t\ If it be
only to take leave of me that you are come back, I could have ex-
cused you the ceremony with all my heart. — Or if you . . . mercy
on us! — no nearer — pray — or if you have wronged anybody, as
you always loved mone^ ... a Itttle, — I give you the word of a
frighted Christian, I will pray as long as you please for the de-
liverance or repose of your departed soul. My good — worthy —
noble friend, do pray — ^wappear. . . as ever you would wish
jour old friend to come to his senses again.

TERRORS OF DEATH. — Shakespeare.

To die, and go ... we know not where : —
To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot: —
This sensible — warm — motion, to become
A kneaded clod; and the delightful spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice ; —
To be imprison'd in the viewless winds,
And blown /t\ with restless violence about

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. ^37-

The pendent world ; or . . to be . . . worse than worst
Of those, that lawless and uncertain thoughts
Imagine howling //^ O 'tis too horrible !
The weariest and most loathed worldly life —
That age^ ache, penury^ and imprisonment
Can lay on nature. . . is a Paradise
To what we fear of Death.

THREATENED REVENGE. — Shakesftare,

If they speak but truth of her . . .
These hands shall tear her; if they -wrong her honour*
ThQ proudest of them shall well hear of it.
Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine,
Nor age so ate up my invention.
Nor fortune made such havoc of my means^
Nor my bad life 'reft me so much oi friends^
But they %\i9\\find awak'd in such a kind,
Both strength of limb, and policy of mind,
Ability in means, and choice of triends —
To quit me of them thoroughly.

TIES OF LOVE. — P. y. Bailey,

I loved her, for that she was beautiful ;

And that she seemed to be . . . all Nature^

And all varieties of things in one :

Would set at night in clouds of tears, and rise

All light and laughter in the morning: fear

No petty customs or appearances^

But think what others only dreamed about.

And say what others did but think, and do

What others would but say, and glory in

What others dared but do. So pure withal

In soul ; in heart and act such conscious, yet

Such careless innocence, she made round her

A halo of delight ! — 'twas these which won me ;

And that she never schooled within her breast »

One thought, or feeling, but gave holiday

To all ; and she made all even mine

In the communipn of love ; and we

Grew like each other.

UNTOLD LOVE. — y. A, Hillhouse,

The soul, my lord, is fashioned like the Iprre ;
Strike one cnord suddenly, and others vibrate.
Your name abruptly mentioned, casual words
Of comment on your deeds, praise from your uncle>
News from the armies, talk of your return^ , . .
A word let fall touching your youthful passion.
Suffused her cheek, called to her drooping eye

338

THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

A momentary lustre ; made her pulse .
Leap headlong, and her bosom palpitate.
I could not long be blind ; for love defies
Concealment^ making every glance and motion
Speech — and silence a tell-tale.

These things, though trivial in themselves, begat
Suspicion. But long months elapsed
Ere I knew all. She had, you know, 9i fever, /t\
One night, when all were weary and at rest,
I. sitting by her couch, tired and overwatched,
Thinking she slept, suffered my lids to close. /^
Waked by a voice, I found her . . . Never, signor,
While life endures, will that scene/ade from me 1 —
A dying lamp winked on the hearth, that cast
And snatched the shadows. — Something stood before me t
In white. My flesh began to creep. I thought
I saw a spirit. It was my lady risen
And standing with clasped hands like one in prayer.
Her pallid face, in the dim light, displayed
Something, methought, surpassing mortal beauty.
She presentl;^ turned round, and fixed her large wild eyes
Brimming with tears upon me ; fetched a sigh
As from a riven heart, and cried, ** He's dead /
But, hush l—weep not: — IVe bargained for his soul;
Thafs safe in bliss !" /C\ Demanding vjho was dead, —
Scarce yet aware she raved, — she answered quick,
Her Cosmoy her beloved I for that his ghost^
All pale and gory, thrice had passed her bed.
With that, her passion breaking loose^ my lord,
She poured her lamentation forth in strams
Pathetical beyond the reach of reason.
** Gone^ gone, gone to the grave, and never knew
I loved him I" r:\ I'd no power to speak or move. —
I sat stone-^\\\\. — A horror fell upon me.
At last, her little strength ebbed out: she sank;
And lay, as in deaths arms, till morning.

UPBRAIDING— WITH WANT OP J>VTY.—Skakespear€.

Fie^ fie I ««knit that threatening, unkindhrovr;

And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, —

To wound thy lord . . . thy king . . . thy Governor. /^

It blots thy beauty, sls frosts bite the meads ;

Confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds ;

And in uo sense is meet, or amiable.

A woman moved is like sl fountain troubled,

Muddy, ill seeming, thick, bereft of beauty ;

And, while it is so, none so dry or thirsty

Will deign to sip, or touch one drop of it.

Thy husband is thy lord, thy Itfe, thy keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign ; one that cares for thee,

THE LANGUAGS OP PASSION. 239

And for thy maintenance : commits his body
To painful labour^ both by sea and land ;
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold.
While thou liest warm at home^ secure and safe ;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands,
But love, fair looks, and true obedience ; —
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the /riVic^,
Even such— a woman oweth to her husband;
And when %h^*B froward^ peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel.
And graceless traitor to her loving Lord ? —
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace ;
Or seek for ruUy supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey,

VKLOVK.-^Moore.

He read their thoughts . . . the^ were his own,^T\

What! while our arms can wield these blades,
Shall we die tamely f die alone / . . .

Without one victim to our shades —
One Moslem heart, where, buried deefy
The sabre from its toil may sleep?
No / . . . God of Iran's burning skies I
Thou scorn*st the inglorious sacrifice. /T\
No! . . . though of all earth's hope bereft,
L.ife, swords, and vengeance^ still are left !
We'll make yon valley s reeking caves

Live in the awe-struck minds of men,
Till tyrants shudder^ when their slaves

Tell of the Ghebers' bloody glen.—
Follovjy brave hearts ! /^ this/«7e remains
Our refuge still . . . from life and chains ;
But his the best, the holiest bed,
Who sinks entombed in Moslem dead I

VENGEANCB.— 2>ff^a/</ Moore.

There is an order in the race of men,

Who, being smit by fortune's shafts, sit down.

And — like 2i statue on a pedestal —

Seem chillM to marble ! or, they whine SLvrAy

Their manhood — like sick maidens. <^ I . , . was not

Made of such moping matter ! I was not

Fashion'd to walk the earth, and bear about

A rainy eyeball and a nerveless heart !

The wild materials that are gathered here

Could only yet be quench'd in showers of bloody , ^ .

Not smothered in salt rheum ! — I have been wronged.

240 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION.

Av, trampled on ! — but they who smote me, yet
May feel — when least expected— the "keen tooth —
The adder's fang, — sharp, cutting, edg'd with death.
In what they deem*d a worm.

VIRTUE.— /?<?Wtf.

Yes I to be good is to be happy : — angels

Are happier than mankind, because they're better.

Guilt is the source of sorroiv : *tis the fiend,

The avenging fiend, that follows us behind

With whips and stings. The blest know none of this 5

But rest in everlasting /^ac« of mind.

And find the height of all their heaven is goodness.

WARNING.— Cotton,
To-morrow J didst thou say ?
Methought I heard Horatio say, To-morrow.
Go to — I will not hear of it. /t\ To-morrow !
*Tis a sharper^ — who. stakes his penury
Against thy plenty ; who takes thy ready cash,
And pays thee nought^ . . . but wishes, hopes and promises^
The currency of /V?/<?/5 ; injurious bankrupt.
That gulls the easy creditor I — To-morrow !
It is a period no-where to be found
In all the hoary registers of Time, —
Unless, perchance, in the fool's calendar I
Wisdom disclaims the word, hor holds society
With those who own it. No, my Horatio,
'Tis Fancy's child, and Folly is its father ;
Wrought of such stuff as dreams are, and baseless
As the fantastic visions of the evening.
But, soft, my friend ; /t\ arrest th^ present moments ;
For, be assured, they all are arrant tell-tales :
And — though their flight be silent, and their path
Trackless as the wingSd couriers of the air —
They post to heaven, and there record thy folly.
Because, though stationed on the important watch.
Thou, like a sleeping, faithless sentinel,
Didst let them pass, »»noticed, Vin\mfroved,
And know, for that thou slumberedst on the guard.
Thou shalt be made to answer at the bar
For every fugitive ; and /'^ when thou thus
Shalt stand impleaded at the high tribunal
Of hood-winked Justice, who shall tell thy audit !
Then, stay the present instant, . . . dear Horatio I
Imprint tne marks oi wisdom on its wings ;
'Tis of more worth than kingdoms I far more precious
Than all the crimson treasures of Itfes fountain I —
O I let it not elude thy grasp ; but— like
The good old patriarch upon record, —
Hold the fleet angel /««/, until he bless thee I

THE END.

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Full text of ""Elocutionary manual." The principles of elocution, with exercises and notations, for pronunciation, intonation, emphasis, gesture and emotional expression"

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