There are but very few who know how to be idle and innocent. A man of a refined imagination, is let into a great many pleasures which the vulgar are not capable of receiving.

A beautiful prospect delights the sõul as much as a demonstration; and a description in Homer has charmed mōre rēaders than a chapter in Aristotle.

But pleasures are like poppies spread,

You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-falls in the river,
A moment white-then melt forever;
Or, like the bōreālis rāce,

That flit ere you can point the place;
Or, like the rainbow's lovely fōrm,
Evanishing amid the storm.

He spoke; and awful bends his sable brows,
Shakes his ambrosial curls, and gives the nod;
The stamp of fate, the sanction of a God;

High heaven with trembling the dread signal took,
And all Olympus to its centre shook.

Oh, unexpected stroke, worse than of death!
Must I thus leave thēc, Paradise? Thus leave
Thee, native soil? these happy walks and shades,
Fit haunt of gods; where I had hoped to spend
Quiet, though sad, the respite of that day
Which must be mortal to us both? Oh, flowers
That never will in other climate grow,

My early visitation, and my last

At even, which I bred up with tender hand

From your first opening buds, and gāve you nāmes;
Who now shall rear you to the sun, or rank

Your tribes, and water from the ambrosial fōunt?

Remark. In reading the foregoing examples, it will be observed, that not only the tonick, but, also, the subtonick, elements frequently admit of protraction.

IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ARTICULATION,

The prescribed limits of this Essay, render it impracticable to pursue, to any great extent, investigations on this branch of elocution. If enough has been presented to arrest the attention of the learner, and excite in him a spirit of inquiry, the design of the writer is accomplished: but he is unwilling to take leave of this subject without laying before the reader a few more considerations that may urge him to push his investigations in this department by his own individual efforts, and by an attentive perusal (if he can procure them) of "The Philosophy of the Human Voice" by Dr. Rush, and of Dr. Barber's "Grammar of Elocution."

That a clear, full, and distinct utterance of syllables and

words, is of vastly more importance than any and every other good quality of utterance, any one may readily convince himself, by attentively observing a few of our best, and of our worst, speakers and readers.

What was that mighty charm by which the late John Randolph bound the senses, and seized the passions, of his auditors? As far as his manner of delivery was concerned, it must doubtless be obvious to every one that ever listened to him, that the grand secret of his masterly power in oratory, lay in the distinctness of his ARTICULATION. The same may be said of our Durbin: and, indeed, with him this appears to be, not only the primary, but the PRINCIPAL, ingredient of that eloquence by which he lays hold of the sympathies, and, as it were, with a Timothean power, takes the hearts of his hearers captive at his will, and transports them to the haven of bliss.

In farther confirmation of what I would enforce, I might cite the example of Henry Clay, of Daniel Webster, of William Wirt, of Alexander Hamilton, of Fisher Ames, of Henry Bascom, of John M. Duncan, of Alexander McClelland-of a Summerfield, a Mason, and even a Master Burke, together with a hundred other master spirits whose glowing geniuses adorn, or have adorned, our western hemisphere. But the citation would be gratuitous. No one has any thing more to do, than to open the eyes of his understanding, to look, OBSERVE, and BE CONVINCED. Let conviction, then, lead to attention and PRACTICE. To young gentlemen, especially, who are just launching their bark upon the waves of a professional life, this appeal should be IRRESISTIBLE.

Who ever listened with rapture, or even delight, to a reader or a speaker, whose articulation was indistinct? The thing is impossible an absurdity-a mockery, which tramples upon the philosophy of the human voice, and the elementary principles of human nature.

The first example cited, is, moreover, a remarkable instance of the wonderful effects of industry and perseverance in overcoming the obstacles of nature in order to the attainment of excellence in oratory; for who, unless it was Demosthenes himself, (whose voice was by no means similar,) ever possessed, naturally, a more disagreeable, uncouth, piping, creaking voice, than John Randolph of Roanoke? And yet, whose voice, by cultivation, ever became so alluring, so fascinating, as his? It fell on the ear like a soft strain of musick, and haunted the hearer like the spell of an enchantress, or the soft murmur of a distant waterfall. And the second example is no less remark

able in showing what a bewitching charm-what a mighty power may be wielded, by a voice naturally fine and feeble.

These examples are, also, both instructive, as evincing the importance of a reader or a speaker's adhering to the natural tones of his voice, be they, at first, ever so peculiar, disagreeable, or unpromising. Although natural tones may be softened down and attuned by cultivation, yet they must never be exchanged for artificial ones; for the same holds true with the voice, as with the sentiments, of an orator: both must be real, and his own, or they will be rejected by his auditors, on whom it is impossible to palm counterfeit ware. These examples should also excite emulation in others. If, when labouring under so great disadvantages, men have, by dint of application, and attention to distinctness of articulation, attained such lofty heights of excellence in the field of eloquence, what encouragements are not held forth to those whose voices are naturally strong and melodious !

Let no one plead, that, because a good articulation is generally neglected, it, therefore, becomes a matter of little moment. It is a paltry trick of sophistry to bring forward the faults of others for the purpose of extenuating our own misdeeds. This mischievous delusion must always result disadvantageously to him who adopts it. No malefactor ever found the halter less severe on account of the numerous victims which the gallows claims.

It is a great mistake to suppose, that, in order to fill an extensive space, so as to be clearly understood by the most distant hearer, a reader or a speaker must necessarily raise the pitch, and increase the volume and force, of his voice. Who has not observed, that partially deaf persons much more readily apprehend what is said to them in a clear, moderate tone of voice that is perfectly distinct, than what is uttered in a loud tone, and in a rapid and indistinct manner? Of course, the same holds true in addressing an audience or an individual whose sense of hearing is not impaired: and it is not a little singular, that a consideration so important to publick speakers, is, by them, so generally disregarded. If they would only reflect, that the clear and distinct enunciation even of a feeble voice, is far more efficacious than the boisterous precipitancy of a strong one, it is apparent, that, at the bar, in the sacred desk, in our legislative halls, and elsewhere, we should have more.. speaking, and less... bawling. With distinctness, the singsong whine of the most canting speaker, does more execution than the voice of a Stentor without it. Although a fluent, and

even a rapid, flow of words, where the sentiments uttered, render it proper, is often advantageously adopted by a reader or a speaker, yet his fluency should never be permitted to encroach upon a distinct articulation.

We readily understand, then, why the ancients regarded ARTICULATION as the primary requisite in delivery. This grand quality being overlooked, all other acquisitions in oratory will prove unavailing, or, in other words, will fall short of their object, just in proportion to the neglect with which articulation is treated.

The persevering efforts of Demosthenes, who, in order to correct his faults in articulation, betook himself to speaking with pebbles in his mouth, also when undergoing the labour of walking up hill, and likewise amid the roar of dashing waves, are as familiar to every one as an ordinary nursery tale—and about as much regarded! But it would be doing great injus tice to that illustrious orator, to bring his genius down to the same level with his who should, in our day, by the cultivation of his vocal powers, attain the same height in eloquence that he did. The modern candidate for oratorical fame, stands on very different, and far more advantageous, ground, than that occupied by the young and aspiring Athenian-especially since a correct analysis of the vocal organs, and a faithful record of their operations, have been given to the world by Dr. James Rush of Philadelphia-a name that will outlive the unquarried marble of our mountains. In his "Philosophy of the Human Voice," this branch of learning is, for the first time, reduced to a science, and established upon the unbending principles of an inductive philosophy. By the lights of science, then, which shone not upon the ancients, may the modern votary of Hermes be guided on his way to the temple of fame

QUESTIONS.

How may one convince himself of the beauty and importance of a clear and distinct articulation?

What speakers can you name as illustrative of it?

Which of these are remarkable for their perseverance in overcoming, by oratorical culture, the obstacles of nature?

Are artificial tones or sentiments admissible in a speaker?

In order to fill a large space with the voice, is it requisite to raise its pitch, or increase its volume and force?

What, then, is requisite ?-(a distinct articulation.)

Can you prove this by a reference to deaf persons?

What did the ancients regard as the primary requisite in delivery? To what practices had Demosthenes recourse, in order to overcome his impediments of speech?

CHAPTER II.

OF TONES AND MODULATION.

THE Word TONES, in its most comprehensive sense, denotes the whole range of perfect sounds which are produced, either by man, the inferiour animals, or musical instruments: but, in a rhetorical sense,

TONES Consist in the various sounds of the voice in its ascent from a low to a high pitch, or in its descent from a high to a low one.

MODULATION denotes the variations of the tones in their ascending and descending progressions from one note to another.

To the wisdom and goodness of his Creator, man is indebted for that peculiar endowment called the power of speech. In order that he may be enabled to exert this faculty to the greatest advantage in effecting all its important purposes, the same divine wisdom and goodness have been displayed, in bestowing upon him those peculiar and various tones of voice which constitute another characteristical feature of that pre-eminence which he holds over the rest of the animal world. All animals, it is true, express their various feelings by peculiar tones; but those possessed by man, are the more delicate, melodious, and comprehensive, in proportion to the elevation of his rank in the scale of being. There is not an act of his mind, an exertion of his fancy, nor an emotion of his heart, which cannot be expressed in a manner exactly suited to the degree of his internal feeling. Hence, it is chiefly in the correct and appropriate use of these tones, that the life, the spirit, the beauty, and the harmony of delivery consist.

TONES.

A scientifick analysis of the speaking voice, may, perhaps, be facilitated, by borrowing, under this head, the terms adopted