ing the style, however much they may have relished the matter, has done but little as yet towards the cultivation of a correct taste. At the same time it is to be hoped that some results may spring from the fashion we have indicated, and that it will not pass away as a mere whim of the moment, or be superseded by a style of entertainment more objectionable. If it has awakened in the parents and guardians of youth a sense of the importance of their being taught at school to read well, it has done something, and we must wait for the boys who are now being educated for it to bear fruit.

CHAPTER II.

ELOCUTION CONSIDERED AS AN ART.

the con

ORATORY, like poetry, is a gift, and cannot be acquired; ception of original ideas and the ability to put them rapidly into form is common to both-but as versification is to poetry what elocution is to oratory, both may be improved by study; the versifier become in some sense a poet, and the elocutionist an orator. There must, however, always remain a wide gulf between the two. which no mere theoretical knowledge can bridge over.

To be able to speak and read well—that is, with a graceful and elegant enunciation of our native tongue-must certainly rank amongst the foremost accomplishments; and the truth of this proposition appears to be very generally admitted, and attested by the pleasure that is so universally derived from a just, appropriate, and harmonious delivery; for as language is the medium through which we communicate our thoughts, feelings, and impressions, so the force and power it exerts over us must naturally be considerably modified by the manner in which it is conveyed to us.

To the cultivation of this power the Art of Elocution addresses itself, and is defined to be, the just and graceful management of the Voice, Countenance, and Gesture.

The importance of this art has been felt and acknowledged in all countries wherein civilization and learning have attained their highest state of perfection. Even from the earliest times it has ever been esteemed an indispensable branch of education; nor can

66

its too common neglect with us be justified when we reflect upon its nature, and its almost paramount necessity, not alone as regards those who aspire to distinguish themselves in Parliament, at the Bar, or in the Pulpit, but even as to its influence in the transactions of commercial life and the management of large public societies. Nor is it possible to deny the grace and charm with which it invests the conversation of the scholar and the gentleman; for, as Cicero has justly observed, A cultivated address and a knowledge of its principles are highly ornamental and useful even in private life.”* And surely the truth of this observation must, at some time or other, have been apparent to most of us when we have witnessed the efforts of some unfortunate youth who has unexpectedly been called upon to entertain a family circle, by reading a selection from the works of a favourite author; or, on the contrary, have been charmed by the correct and pure enunciation-the just and natural harmony-with which, it may be, some other friend has, on a similar occasion, entranced the attention and elicited the applause and delight of all around him.

Nor are the disadvantages from the neglect of this very essential branch of a perfect and polite education in oratory—that is, the extemporaneous expression of our own thoughts and sentimentsless apparent. How many instances may be cited where awkwardness of address, and a stammering and confused style of delivery, have imperilled a good cause, whose advocate, defective only in this respect, has been compelled to succumb before mere fluency of speech and confident volubility. And yet, strange as it may appear, there are those who either deny the possibility of teaching this art or ignore the benefits derived from its cultivation, affirming it to be altogether inutile, and that nature, unassisted, is alone sufficient as a guide, whether in speaking or reading—many men, as they assert, being able to do both the one and the other, not only correctly but gracefully, who are totally unacquainted with the rules and principles of elocution. But if we accept thoroughly the deductions they would have us derive from arguments like these, we must assume that there are no bad readers or speakers

*Cic. de Orat. lib. i.

at all, though our observation and constant experience unfortunately prove to the contrary; and does it therefore follow that because isolated instances exist, where from a happy combination of circumstances the gifts of nature may be displayed in their perfection by unassisted genius, that there is no utility in art or culture as regards those who are less fortunate?

In fact, it is from such native powers and instinctive efforts that the whole principles of elocution are deduced.

As an art, it is, like others, entirely imitative: Nature in her most graceful and harmonious expressions of the intentions, sentiments, and emotions of the mind, being the model; and the rules of that art teach us to reproduce in our utterance of the thoughts of others, the same tones, inflections, and pauses with which Nature has invested our own.

It is not indeed pretended that by the study and application of those rules excellence can be insured, or an equal proficiency attained by all; that of course must depend on natural powers and capacity; but few who have deeply considered the subject will be disposed to deny the great advantages that might accrue from a systematic instruction in this art in early life, when the vocal organs are pliable and ductile, the observation keen, and the ear quick and sensible of modulation, for it is precisely at this period much of the evil from its neglect arises. It is by the neglect of all study that either a drawling kind of monotony, a uniform rehearsing tone, by which a dull, unvarying sound, unbroken by inflection or pause, is acquired, producing a wearying effect on the ear, or that a no less disagreeable sensation is inflicted from a diametrically opposite cause, viz., a constant rising and falling of the voice totally regardless of the nature or feeling of the subject delivered, and this careless unanimated whining manner, uncorrected, becomes a habit not easily eradicated.

Now, we have to consider what are the principles and rules for a just and appropriate delivery in reading as laid down by the art of elocution as opposed to this, and they consist, first, in a distinct articulation modified by tone to the emotions of the mind, next in the judicious observance of pause, inflection, and emphasis, as governed by the sense, and lastly, the key or pitch,

being the proper management of the voice; and to these are added gesture or action when referring to oratory or recitation.

Of the material consequence that attaches to the first of these, viz., articulation, there can hardly be any dispute. The most essential quality in a speaker being distinctness, not only as regards the pleasure with which he is heard, but also the comfort and convenience of himself, a moderate power of voice being audible at a much greater distance, provided the articulation is pure and correct, than would be the case with a much stronger organ if confused or indistinct in its utterance. Defects in this particular are chiefly attributable to a too great precipitancy of speech, and are not unfrequently the result of school repetitions, in which readiness and quickness of utterance are considered, often, rather a clever achievement on the part of the pupil, and a satisfactory evidence of being perfect by the master. Be this as it may, the result is a bad habit, and the most effectual method of counteracting and removing it that perhaps can be suggested, is the daily practice of reading aloud either a vocabulary of words or some literary composition, neglecting altogether its construction or sense, and paying attention only to the pronunciation of every syllable, particularly regarding the vowel sounds in all their tonic variety, and in this manner going through the entire task slowly and distinctly, much slower indeed than would be necessary if read in the proper manner. The indistinctness acquired by sacrificing sense to rapidity may, by the opposite process, be removed.

This will be found also a very efficient way of strengthening the voice in all its pitches: of which hereafter.

For a correct accentuation, which should be invariably associated with articulation, that is easily attainable by reference to the pronouncing dictionary, and for that purpose the most modern will always be the best, as fashion in many instances is the authority.

Above all things, mind your aitches-an aitch dropped or wrongly aspirated, is to an educated ear what a note played out of tune is to a musician's. Remember, too, that we have many words spelt alike and pronounced differently, accordingly as they are used as nouns or verbs-look these out in the piece you are about to read, is you have any doubt, and consult your dictionary.

CHAPTER III.

ON PAUSE.

THOUGH it would be wrong to affirm, of any particular branch of the "art of elocution," that it is the first in importance, since they all act, as it were, in combination, and each contributes its share essentially in imparting force, elegance, feeling, or harmony to the delivery of the perfect reader or speaker, according to the variety of character with which Infinite Goodness has endowed that supreme and distinctive gift, the articulate voice of man; yet, as the ease and propriety with which we are enabled to pronounce written language, or our own extemporaneous effusions, is mainly dependent on the theory of pausing, its skilful adaptation may at least be considered the foundation on which the art of reading and speaking is in some measure based. To appreciate it properly, it is necessary we should understand the difference that exists between language as it addresses itself to us through two different mediums-those of the eye and the ear-to the first by written characters, and to the latter by oral expression.

Now, the system of punctuation or stops, by which the former of these is distinguished, can only be considered serviceable as it instructs the silent reader in the grammatical construction of the subject before him, and he is thus guided in the sense of his author; that is, if they are correctly placed, which, however, may not always be the case.

These, then, for distinction sake, we will call "Grammatical Pauses." But these are by no means sufficient for the purpose of reading aloud, and it is the ignorance, or disregard of this fact, that is the foundation of many false rules of instruction in this particular branch of education. Hence the common direction, "mind your stops," by which is meant, those alone that appear on the printed page, with no reference at all to any others that may be deemed necessary, and indeed are absolutely essential to correct oral delivery.

Hence, too, the second injunction, which is "that the breath is never to be drawn but at a full stop." Now, concerning these stops,