Use also the following:

1. They listen and are attentive.

2. He has the fever.

3. It is offended.

You will observe that these emphatic syllables shorten with increasing emphasis, while those of the former exercise lengthen.

The first are Open Sounds; the second, Close Sounds. OPEN SOUNDS ARE:-All sounds of a, all sounds of o; u long, and sometimes u short; all diphthongs and double vowels except ea in words like dead, &c.; E is prolonged in words like here, merely, &c.

CLOSE SOUNDS ARE:-Sounds of i; sounds of e; usually u short.

Remember, all open sounds should be prolonged for emphasis; all close sounds made short.

This is a most important distinction. The vowel sounds of our language have been handed down to us from other languages. This division of sounds was a prominent feature of the Greek orthoepy. The open sounds are so termed, because in forming them the throat opens well and the sound has the full quality of an organ tone; the close sounds are best closed and have

formed with the teeth more nearly

the quick stroke of a piano note. Thus both these instruments are but attempted imitations of the grander mechanism-the human voice.

By proper attention to this distinction of sounds, the voice will gain much power of sweetness, music and variety of expression. To make all Open sounds Close, gives a roughness to the speaker's style; to make Close sounds Open, gives the drawl that is so painfully noticeable with many speakers.

This principle applies mainly to the emphatic syllables. Therefore practice the following, prolonging open vowels for emphasis, and giving close sounds a quicker utterance. The manner of prolonging sounds we will discuss in next chapter.

Take the wings of the morning, and the Barcan desert pierce, | or lose thyself in the continuous woods, where rolls the Oregon | and hears no sound, save his own dashing; yet the dead are there! | And millions in those solitudes since first the flight of years began have laid them down to their last sleep. | The dead reign there alone.

Brutus. Romans, countrymen, | and lovers! | hear me for my cause; and be silent, ❘ that you may hear; | believe me | for mine honor; and have respect to mine honor | that you may believe; censure me in your wisdom; | and awake your senses, | that you may the better judge. | If there be any in this assembly any dear friend of Cæsar's, | to him I say, | that Brutus' love to Cæsar was no less than his. | If then that friend demand, why Brutus rose against Cæsar, this is my answer: | Not | that I loved Cæsar less, but that I loved Rome | more. | Had you rather Cæsar were living, and die all slaves, | than that Cæsar were dead, | to live all freemen? | As Cæsar loved me, I weep for him; | as he was fortunate, | I rejoice at it; | as he was valiant, | I honor him; | but as he was ambitious, | I slew him. There is tears for his love; | joy for his fortune; | honor for his valor; | and death for his ambition. | Who is here so base, | that would be a bondman? | If any, speak; | for him have I offended. Who is here so rude, that would not be a Roman ? | If any, speak, | for him have I offend

ed. | Who is here so vile | that will not love his country? | If any, speak; | for him have I offended. | I pause for a reply.

Practice also with this principle in view former examples and exercises on emphasis.

VOICE MOVEMENT.

RISING TONES.-FALLING TONES.

Our former experiments were with horizontal lines. Now, let us look further.

you do so, allow the chalk to move and it will ascend as the voice rises, rather than keep the horizontal line. Thus you will form a series of upward lines as in Cut. Now, if in answer to your A? I should repeat A with strong affirmation, the voice will descend and the stroke of the chalk will be downward. Thus by repeating the question and giving the affirmation strongly, you will observe two distinct movements of the voice-ascending and descending. Practice this with different vowels, E, I, O, U; also with words, as All, You.

Observe as the sounds ascend they change somewhat, O and U to 00, I and E to EE obscure, as

these latter sounds are more easily produced on a high pitch. In descending, all the sounds become more open. Also, you will perceive the upward movement in the close vowels to be much quicker than that of open sounds.

"Oh!" as if to express,--"I see, I understand,"-and as you prolong the sound the tone rises and descends. This is the rising circumflex. Test it as in Cut. The tone may descend in pitch much below the starting point. Try in like manner all the following, using the diagram as in Cut.

Oho! Aha! Ah! You! All!

Repeat "No" slowly, as if in surprise, beginning on a high pitch and holding the tone for sometime. The tone will descend and then rise again. The meaning will be, "No, I did not say that, you are partly mistaken." Or, again, repeat "Aha!" as if you made a discovery; some one is at mischief and you repeat this word as if you said by it :-"Aha! I have found you out!" Then repeat "Oho!" as if the person retorted it, and made it mean, "Oho! much I care!" and these will be examples of rising and falling circumflexes.

A circumflex is but the continuation of a rising or falling tone. The voice will ascend to some limit and then the tone will not be prolonged on the high pitch-which would give it the sound of singingbut will begin to descend. Likewise, when the tone begins to descend, it will go to a low note of the voice and then return on an upward movement. So, if you master upward and downward inflexion, or tone movement, circumflex will be easy, as it is always used where there is a prolongation of a syllable. These exercises are to render the voice capable of the smooth rising and falling movement.

PITCH OF CONSONANTS.

A whisper or purely aspirate sound can not be formed on many degrees of pitch. A subvocal sound is capable of wider range but even this cannot be carried to a high note. Thus in giving a syllable an upward movement, it looses, Ist, the aspirate sound; 2d, the subvocal sounds; and the voice ascends upon vocality alone. When the voice begins to descend, the final subvocals are first joined, then the aspirates.

Thus pronounce "slaves"

with the emphatic upward movement and you will perceive the consonants will be disposed as in the diagram. The S will be first dropped as you ascend in pitch, then

the L and your voice will ascend upon the vocal alone and to complete the word the voice will give V on pitch nearly the same as L or lower and the final S will be lower still.