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ELOCUTION AND ORATORY.

I. ELOCUTION.

ELOCUTION is the art of delivering with ease and propriety, written or extemporaneous composition.

Good reading or speaking, therefore, may be considered not only as uttering the words of a sentence so that they may be distinctly heard, but also, giving them all that beauty, force and variety, of which they are susceptible.

The prime qualification of an orator, is a pure and culti vated voice; therefore, a knowledge of the right use of the breathing apparatus, together with the proper manner of disciplining and using the voice, is the first subject the student should notice.

“Ignorance of the right way of using the lungs and the larynx, in speaking, reading, and singing, has caused more cases of bronchitis and pulmonary consumption among students, vocalists, clergymen, and other public speakers, than all other causes combined."-KIDD.

II. BREATHING.

Stand in a perfectly erect, but easy posture, with the weight of the body resting on one foot; the feet at the proper angle and distance from each other.

1. EFFUSIVE OR TRANQUIL BREATHING.

Draw in slowly, a full breath, and send it forth very

slowly in a prolonged sound of the breathing h, or a-h in a whisper.

2. EXPULSIVE OR FORCIBLE BREATHING.

Draw in, somewhat quicker than in Effusive, a full breath, and emit it with a lively, expulsive force; the sound of the h but little prolonged.

3. EXPLOSIVE OR ABRUPT BREATHING. Draw in a full breath, faster than in Expulsive, and emit it very quickly in a very brief sound of the h.

This exercise in Breathing is an admirable one; as it not only gives command and strength to the organs of breathing, but it tends to allay the irritation of the fibers, that cause much of the harshness heard in many voices.

III. WHISPERING.

For students accustomed to articulate poorly, practice in whispering is one of the best remedies. For in speaking we may be understood if we do not articulate distinctly, but in whispering it is impossible. Let, then, the exercises under this head be confined exclusively to whispering.

1. EFFUSIVE WHISPERING.

Let the breath pass from the mouth in as gentle a manner as possible; so that, at first, a person at the distance of about ten feet would understand.

Examples.

STILLNESS OF NIGHT.-Byron.

All heaven and earth are still,-though not in sleep,

But breathless, as we grow when feeling most;

And silent, as we stand in thought too deep :

All heaven and earth are still: From the high host

Of stars to the lulled lake, and mountain coast,

All is concentrated in a life intense,

Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost,
But hath a part of being, and a sense

Of that which is of all Creator and Defence.

2. EXPULSIVE WHISPERING.

Let the breath pass from the mouth with more force than in Effusive; so that a person could understand at about twice the distance of Effusive.

Examples.

Soldiers! you are now within a few steps of the enemy's outposts. Our scouts report them as slumbering in parties around their watchfires, and utterly unprepared for our approach. A swift and noiseless advance around that projecting rock, and we are upon them, we capture them without the possibility of resistance.—One disorderly noise or motion may leave us at the mercy of their advanced guard. Let every man keep the strictest silence, under pain of instant death!

3. EXPLOSIVE WHISPERING.

Let the breath pass from the mouth in as abrupt and explosive a manner as possible.

Examples.

Hark! I hear the bugles of the enemy! They are on their march along the bank of the river. We must retreat instantly, or be cut off from our boats. I see the head of their column already rising over the height. Our only safety is in the screen of this hedge. Keep close to it; be silent; and stoop as you run. For the boats! Forward!

IV. QUALITY.

Quality has reference to the tone, or the kind of sound uttered.

The Qualities of Voice mostly used in reading or speaking, and which should receive the highest degree of culture are, the Pure Tone, the Orotund, the Aspirated, and the Guttural.

PURE TONE.

The Pure Tone is a clear, smooth, sonorous flow of

sound, adapted to express emotions of joy, love, and tran

quillity.

Examples.

"JOY."

Shakspeare.

Come, let us to the castle.

News, friends; our wars are done, the Turks are drown'd.
How does my old acquaintance of this isle?

Honey, you shall be well desired in Cyprus,

I have found great love amongst them. O my sweet,
I prattle out of fashion, and I dote

In mine own comforts.

"LOVE."

LINES WRITTEN IN A HIGHLAND GLEN.-Wilson.

Oh! that this lovely vale were mine!

Then, from glad youth to calm decline,
My years would gently glide;
Hope would rejoice in endless dreams,
And Memory's oft-returning gleams
By peace be sanctified!

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‘TRANQUILLITY.”

SOLILOQUY OF DOUGLAS.-Home.

This is the place,—the centre of the grove ;-
Here stands the oak, the monarch of the wood:
How sweet and solemn is this midnight scene!
The silver moon unclouded holds her way
Through skies where I could count each little star;
The fanning west wind scarcely stirs the leaves;
The river, rushing o'er its pebbled bed,

Imposes silence with a stilly sound.

In such a place as this, at such an hour,-
If ancestry may be in aught believed,-
Descending spirits have conversed with man,
And told the secrets of the world unknown.

OROTUND.*

The Orotund is a full, deep, round, pure tone of voice, adapted to the declamatory style generally; and adapted

*The Orotund is, in reality, a fuller development of the Pure Tone.

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