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very short distance, when speaking in a whisper, will tax the lungs, the lips, and all the speaker's powers of articulation to a remarkable degree. Reading or speaking in a loud whisper, if carefully practiced, is one of the best exercises for both the speaking and the breathing organs.

EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION.

First.—Pronounce the following words in a very positive conversational tone, and prolong the sounds at the beginning and at the end of words, so as to make them distinct and audible at a considerable distance:

bd.-Orb'd, prob'd, rob'd, rub'd.

bdst.-Tumbled'st, fabled'st, stabled'st.

dlst.-Add'lst, padd'lst, pedd'lst.

fldst.-Baffl'dst, muffl'dst, fiddl'dst.

gdst.-Beg'dst, flog'dst, bag'dst.

ngd.-Rang'd, hing'd, hang'd, ring'd.

rgd.—Merg'd, charg'd, enlarg'd.

rmdst.-Arm'dst, form'dst, storm'dst.
rnd.-Burn'd, turn'd, spurn'd.
rvd. Curv'd, swerv'd, starv'd.
skst.-Bask'st, mask'st, frisk'st.
thd.—Breath'd, wreath'd, sheath’d.
ths.-Breath's, wreath's, sheath's.
thst.-Breathd'st, wreathd'st, sheathd'st.
vdst.-Liv'dst, deceiv'dst, believ'dst.
zldst. Dazzl❜dst, muzzl'dst, puzzl'dst.
zms.-Chasms, spasms, bosoms.
nz.-Pris'n, ris'n, seas'n.

znd.-Imprison'd, reason'd, season'd.

Second. Give the following passages slowly in a conversational tone, at first directing the attention to distinct articulation and correct pronunciation. When they can be spoken distinctly, correctly, rapidly, and with ease, then direct the attention to their delivery with pleasant and appropriate modulation, emphasis, and expression:

EXAMPLES.

1. He acted from pure and disinterested motives.

2. They peremptorily refused to enter the receptacle of the dead.

3. My lords, this, a tremendous and awful crisis.

4. Teach thine heart the holy art of humbly hearing truth.

5. A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call.

6. Alike the river's lordly pride,

Alike the humble rivlets glide

To that sad wave.

7. His inuendos and criticisms fall indiscriminately on every

thing that is lovely.

8. When all the sky is draped in black,

And beaten by tempestuous gales,

Thy shuddering barque seems all a wrack,
Then trim again thy tattered sails;
To grim despair be not a prey:
Remember, this will pass away.
9. From shingles grey the lances start,
The bracken bush sends forth the dart,
The rushes and the willow wand
Are bristling into axe and brand
On right, on left, above, below,
Sprang up at once the lurking foe.

10. In their ragged regimentals
Stood the old continentals,

Yielding not;

When the grenadiers were lunging,
And like hail fell the plunging

Cannon shot,

When the files

Of the isles

From the smoky night encampment,
Bore the banner of the rampant

Unicorn.

11. Life, like a dome of many-color'd glass,
Stains the white radiance of eternity.
12. He that is respectless in his courses

Oft sells his reputation at cheap market.
13. Full oft have letters caused their writers
To curse the day they were inditers.

ANALYSIS OF SOUNDS, SYLLABLES, AND

WORDS.

First.-Utter with great distinctness, and precision, and conversational force, the sounds which compose each letter of the alphabet. As you proceed, name with each sound the class to which it belongs. Thus, B: the first sound of the letter B is the subvocal B; the second sound of B is the open vowel sound of E.

Second.-Analyze the following words, express each element singly and with great precision. Designate the accented syllable, then pronounce the words with varying degrees of force, but always with a sufficient degree to mark the accent well, and to bring out clearly and distinctly every syllable and sound.

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The foregoing exercises, if faithfully practiced according to instructions, two or three times a day, will, in a few weeks, break up the worst faults in articulation, and greatly increase the compass, power, and flexibility of the voice.

PRONUNCIATION.

Pronunciation relates to the manner of uttering words with reference to accent, syllabication, and articulation. A correct pronunciation is the utterance of words according to the usage of leading lexicographers and persons of the highest literary culture.

HOW TO CORRECT FAULTS IN PRONUNCIATION.

When you hear an intelligent person pronounce a word differently from the way you pronounce it, or have reason to suspect that your pronunciation of some word or of words is incorrect, as soon as possible afterward consult the highest authority, a standard dictionary. This is the easiest, the shortest, and the best way to settle all questions concerning pronunciation. Write down every word that you habitually or occasionally mispronounce, in some page set apart for that purpose, and twice or oftener every day pronounce them carefully and correctly. If this practice be faithfully observed, the pronunciation of such words will soon be greatly improved, and the fault will eventually be entirely overcome.

One of the most profitable exercises in pronunciation is that of reading aloud daily a few columns of words from a pronouncing dictionary, marking with a pencil the words. you have been accustomed to mispronounce or to hear mispronounced. Commit them to memory, and speak them correctly several times every day until the ear can recognize and the organs of speech and voice instantly pronounce each and every word correctly.

MODULATION.

Modulation means variation of the speaking tones of the voice. Good modulation is such a variation in pitch, force, inflection, movement, and the other elements of vocal expression as will bring out the sense and feeling clearly and fully, and at the same time be pleasing to the ear.

Monotony is the opposite of modulation. To acquire skill in modulation, avoid monotony, whether in inflection, pitch, stress, force, quantity, quality or movement.

The best direction that can be given to the student concerning modulation is: notice those tones and modulations of others to which you listen with pleasure; try to reproduce them, and practice upon them until you can command them at will. The speaker's or reader's own taste and judgment furnish the best standard by which to test his modulation.

""Tis not enough the voice be sound and clear:
'Tis modulation that must charm the ear;
That voice all modes of passion can express
Which marks the proper word with proper stress;
But none emphatic can that speaker call
Who lays an equal emphasis on all."

INFLECTION.

Inflection signifies a sliding of the voice from a higher to a lower, or from a lower to a higher key. It is important to be able to distinguish the difference between the rising and the falling inflections, and still more important to be able to give them with ease and accuracy, from the short slide, which indicates the absence of feeling or interest, to the slide, either upward or downward, that denotes highest interest or most intense feeling.

There are, in fact, but two slides or inflections to the voice the rising and the falling. The circumflex and the innumerable modifications of the equal and the unequal waves, are merely movements in which the voice both rises and falls on the same word.

EXERCISES IN INFLECTION.

Questions that can be answered by yes or no generally require the rising slide, especially on the word or words that are given with emphasis.

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