out elsewhere, indicate to an experienced observer that he was assuming a bravery that he really did not possess; while his antagonist, if cool and collected, would stand in an attitude of comparative weakness, with weight resting lightly on one foot. LAW II. The attitude of respect is unemotional; but if you were in that attitude, and suddenly saw something that interested you, you would advance, and, if very much excited, might fairly spring toward it. So your attitude when standing still would express strong excitement, just in proportion to its similarity to the same expression of the legs and feet when in motion. Weight on Both Feet. With the feet as in walking, expresses suspense, uncertainty, as if you did not know whether to advance or retreat. With the feet wide apart sideways, expresses vulgar ease, familiarity, pomposity, arrogance. With the feet near together, expresses timidity, respect, subordination, weakness. Sitting. Under like conditions, the attitudes of the feet when sitting are the same as in standing. For instance, in animated attention the feet would be well apart, one foot being under the chair, perhaps, as if you were about to spring from your seat, which is just what you would do if your excitement became very great. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE IN ATTITUDE. It does not matter how little or how much any of us have read either of Homer or Shakespeare; everything round us, in substance or in thought, has been moulded by them. All Greek gentlemen were educated under Homer; all Roman gentlemen by Greek literature; all Italian and French and English gentlemen by Roman literature and by its principles. Of the scope of Shakespeare, I will say only that the intellectual measure of every man since born in the domains of creative thought may be assigned to him according to the degree in which he has been taught by Shakespeare.-Ruskin. So boldly he entered the Netherby hall, 'Mong bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all: Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar ?"-Scott. "Ye call me chief, and ye do well to call him chief who, for twelve long years, has met upon the arena every shape of man or beast that the broad Empire of Rome could furnish, and yet never has lowered his arm. And if there be one among you who can say that, ever, in public fight or private brawl, my actions did belie my tongue, let him step forth and say it. If there be three in all your throng dare face me on the bloody sand, let them step forth!"—Kellogg. It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three: “By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now, wherefore stop'st thou me ?" He holds him with his skinny hand: 'There was a ship," quoth he. "Hands off, unhand me, greybeard loon!" Eftsoons his hand drops he.-Coleridge. Now glory to the Lord of hosts, from whom all glories are, A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears at rest, A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest.-Macaulay. He drew the covering closer on his lip, Crying "Unclean! unclean!" and in the folds Of the coarse sackcloth shrouding up his face, "Ho! why dost thou shiver and shake, Gaffer Gray? ""Tis the weather that's cold, "Tis I'm grown very old, And my doublet is not very new. Well-a-day!" In there came old Alice, the nurse, -Old Song. Said, "Who was this that went from thee?" "It was my cousin," said Lady Clare; "To-morrow he weds with me." "Oh, God be thanked!" said Alice, the nurse, “And you are not the Lady Clare." "Are ye out of your mind, my nurse, my nurse?" "As God's above," said Alice, the nurse, "I speak the truth-you are my child." —Tennyson. LESSON XXIV. Articulation.-Continued. The Vowels.—Continued. We have now gone through the list of simple vowelsounds; all other vowels are combinations of some of these. I is 9-1 blended, thus, ah-e; ow in now is 917; oi in oil is 13-1; u is 1-17, except when it follows r, when it has the sound 17 alone, as in rule, true. Careless speakers often say "floot" when they mean flute, "dooty" for duty, and so on. No one, however, says "poo" for pew, nor "foo" for few, though there is equally good reason for such pronunciation. One of the marks of a well-educated person is his careful enunciation of this much-abused vowel u. When a vowel occurs in an unaccented syllable, it is not pronounced with such care and exactness as when it receives the accent; for instance, we say syl-la-b'l, not syl'-la-běl. The vowels in the second and third syllables here are said to be obscure, because it is not always easy to determine which sound is given. If our example were spelt "syllibul," it would make scarcely a perceptible difference in the sound of the word. These obscure sounds are generally indicated in dictionaries by a single dot under the vowel. The only rule for the pronunciation of obscure vowels is to make the sound as nearly like the full sound as is possible without seeming stilted. The articles, personal pronouns, conjunctions, and short prepositions like of, to, from, and for, are always obscure, except when they are emphatic. Thus, when we say, "give it to me," we give the e in me its obscure sound (2d vowel), like i in pin; but when we say "give it to me," we give it its long sound (1st vowel). Nor do we say to (tōō), but almost tů (11th vowel). Treat such words, as regards pronunciation, exactly like the unaccented syllables in words. To be over exact and pedantic would often alter the meaning of the sentence, as in the illustration above. The Consonants. The consonants are formed by the action of the tongue, palate, and lips. The following consonants are made by compressing the lips and then separating them by a quick recoil and relaxation, b, p. Do not give the consonants their name-sounds in practising, thus: bē, pē. Combine these and all following consonants with each of the seventeen vowel-sounds. |