peroration more impassioned and above the ordinary pitch. THE REGULATION OF TONES. Nothing is more awkward in public speaking than a misadaptation of tones to the occasion. They may be classified as follows: 1. The whisper, intended to be audible only to the nearest person. 2. The murmur, or low tone, adapted to close conversation. 3. The ordinary pitch, suited to general conversation. 4. The high or elevated pitch, adapted only to earnest argument or powerful appeals. 5. The extreme or highest pitch, appropriate only in the expression of violent passions. ENUNCIATION. Guard against the common fault of reading or speaking with the mouth insufficiently opened, or the teeth nearly closed. If this habit has been acquired, overcome it as speedily as possible. This may be done by reciting occasionally with a gag placed between the teeth; it may be made of card-board or a thin piece of wood. Commence with a gag half an inch wide, and gradually increase it to an inch and a half. Be careful to articulate every syllable of every word. The general fault of readers, speakers, and especially singers, is in failing to articulate unaccented syllables. The rule of pronunciation is to regard every syllable as equally important, giving each its proper sound, and never slurring nor blending them together. DEPORTMENT. Under this head a few words on the countenance, manner, and gesture may be proper. Nothing tends more to secure the sympathies of the audience than a quiet, self-possessed deportment. Never come before an audience, nor approach the speaker's desk in a hurried, bustling manner. Be deliberate and natural. Be right, then act yourself. Look over the audience, but do not stare at it. Avoid all awkward and uncouth expressions of countenance, as pouting, stretching, or twisting the lips; do not bite, smack, nor lick the lips; in enunciating emphatic words or sentences, do not pull down the corners of the mouth and expose the teeth as in grinning; the mouth should be used much more than the lips in forcible speaking. In all proper gesticulation the movements of the body correspond with and express, in the language of signs, the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. This is done normally by young children, and by all persons who have not been perverted by miseducation. The tendency of the teachings of most of our schools is to exaggeration, by which the student acquires an artificial and affected mannerism. It is propriety, not quantity, of gesture that should be studied. The person who forgets himself in his subject seldom errs in gesticulation, while the person who puts himself before his subject always does. The question for the speaker, who would become proficient in gesture, to ask himself, is not, "What do the hearers think of me?" but "How do I present the subject?" If the speaker successfully communicates his thoughts and feelings to others, he will most certainly do himself justice in manner. In standing, rest alternately on each foot, and prin cipally on the heel, changing position frequently. Keep the feet always flat on the floor, avoiding all tendency to rest on the toes or on one edge of either foot. In walking the stage, turn by placing one foot behind the other, thus at all times inclining to face the audience; never make the awkward blunder of turning one foot around the other in front, thus bringing the back to the audience. The grace of oratorical action consists in the freedom and simplicity of those gestures which illustrate the subject. On this subject the reader who aims at excellence will do well to read Pittenger's "Oratory, Sacred and Secular," which gives a history of some of the leading orators, preachers, and lecturers of the present day, and of the preceding century. CHAPTER VI. EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. THOSE Who would excel as speakers, readers, or singers, should be able to enunciate, distinctly and rapidly, all of the primary or elementary sounds which are represented by written language. The twenty-six letters of the English alphabet represent forty-four distinct sounds, as explained in the following table: ANALYSIS OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. There are forty-four sounds of the English language, represented by the twenty-six letters of the alphabet and their combinations, as in the following table: 1. a, long, as in ale, pale, national, plaintiff, amen. 2. a, grave, or Italian, as in ah, far, papa, mamma. 3. a, broad, or German, as in all, draw, daughter, fraught. 4. a, short, as in at, hat, attack, malefactor. 5. b, name sound, as in be, bite, bright, tub, hubbub 6. c, sound of s, as in cent, city, cornice, precipice. 7. c, sound of k, as in cap, come, occult, ecliptic. 8. c, sound of z, as in suffice, discern, sacrifice. 9. c, sound of sh, as in ocean, Phocion, Cappadocia. 10. (d, name sound, as in ride, did, daddy, double-headed. 11. d, sound of t; as in faced, watched, dipped, escaped. 12. Je, long, as in eel, peel, creed, reveal, precede. 13. e, short, as in ell, expel, ever-extended. 14. f, name sound, as in if, rife, fife, faithful, tariff. 15. f, sound of v, as in of, hereof, whereof, thereof. (47) 16. g, soft or name sound, as in gem, ginseng, logical. 17.g, hard, as in go, give, gig, Brobdignag. 18. (g, sound of gh, as in rouge, protege, mirage. 19. h, name sound, as in hale, high, Hannah. 20. i, long, as in isle, lilac, oblige, iodine. 21. i, short, as in in, pin, king, distinctive. 22. 1, name sound, as in lo, lily, dalliance, lullaby. · 29. p, name sound, as in pill, pippin, panter, platter. 35. w, name sound, as in woo, bewail, wigwam, wormwood. 33. y, name sound, as in ye, yoke, yewyaw, yesterday. 41. th, vocal, as in than, that, beneath, withhold, wherewithal. 42. wh. name sound, as in what, wherefore, whirligig, whimpering. 43. oi or oy, diphthongs, or digraphs, as oil, boy, recoil, employ. 44. ou or ow, diphthongs, or digraphs, as in our, bow, gouty, trowel. The student should master all of these sounds, and practice on them until he can repeat them with facility backward or forward; after which he may, with advantage, exercise on the different sounds or groups of sounds, with the view of developing the power of particular portions of the vocal and respiratory apparatus. ANALYSIS OF THE SOUNDS OF LETTERS. In order to ascertain the exact sound represented by any letter, character, or combination of letters, the student has only to analyze a word in which it occurs. The pro |