organs should be carefully trained from the very beginning of the course, first by a system of breathings, second by constant drill on the Tables, and third by practice on the elements of expression.

There is a proper medium for pitch, movement, force, and volume in ordinary unexciting talking and reading. This is called middle pitch, moderate movement, medium force, and common volume. The variations of these modulations are called high and low pitch, slow and fast movement, soft and loud force, and full and slight volume.

If the matter read is not intended to arouse or to depress, but simply to please or to inform, it should be read with middle pitch, moderate time, medium force, and common volume. This is the natural way of expressing such thoughts.

When the mind is aroused by joy or indignation or defiance, the natural expression is in a higher pitch, louder tone, more rapid movement, and fuller volume; while pity, sorrow, affection, reverence, and awe generally require low pitch, slow movement, soft force, with common or full volume. Hate and terror may be so great as to be expressed with intensity, and yet almost in whispers, with slight volume, soft force, and either slow or rapid movement. The state of mind producing the expression is the key to its being naturally rendered.

EXERCISES IN Breathing.

1. Attitude. Perfectly erect, the weight on one foot, arms akimbo, diaphragm raised, head erect, with the chin drawn in as closely as possible to the neck.

2. Deep Breathing. In this position, draw in and give out the breath very fully and very slowly from five to ten times.

3. Effusive Breathing.-Draw in a full breath, and give it forth in a prolonged sound of "h."

The teacher should be careful not to exact too much of young pupils. Their lungs are tender. The time occupied in a single breathing should be from fifteen seconds at first to about two minutes after three years' practice. All inspirations to be through the nose unless otherwise directed. Each exercise should be repeated from five to ten times, with long rests between the different exercises. Only two or three exercises should be tried at first.

4. Expulsive Breathing.-Draw in a full breath slowly, and force it out in about half the time of the last breathing.

5. Explosive Breathing.—Draw in a full breath slowly, and force it out in a sudden "h."

6. Full Inspiration.-Draw in through the mouth a sudden and full inspiration, as in sighing, and force the breath out strongly through both nose and mouth.

7. The same as 6, except that the inspiration should resemble a series of prolonged sobs.

8. A full inspiration, like gasping, slowly breathed out.

9. Breathe in suddenly and fully, like panting, and let the air forth with less violence.

10. Draw in a full breath, and repeat in a whisper as much of the table on page xiii as you can, slowly, without taking a second breath.

11. Draw in a full breath, and whisper the same as in 10, expulsively.

12. Draw in a full breath, and whisper the same as in 10, explosively.

13. Draw in a full breath, give do softly, increase the sound, and then diminish to the end, thus:

doo0000000

This should be prolonged from ten seconds at the start to about a minute after three years' practice.

14. Draw in a full breath, repeat do, beginning softly, and increasing and diminishing as before:

do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.

15. Draw in a full breath, and repeat naturally this stanza without taking a second breath:

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain-side
Let freedom ring.

Now repeat this stanza slowly, in the common pitch, moderate time, medium force, and common volume.

16. Draw in a full breath, and read this stanza with high pitch, rapid movement, loud force, and full volume:

Strike-till the last armed foe expires!
Strike-for your altars and your fires!
Strike-for the green graves of your sires,

God, and your native land!

17. Draw in a full breath, and read this stanza with low pitch, slow time, soft force, and slight volume:

And now-farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up,

With death so like a gentle slumber on thee !

NOTE.-If pupils fail to hold the breath sufficiently to give all of any exercise, let each stop when a single breath is used.

INFLECTION.

Inflections are slides or turns of the speaking voice from one pitch or key to another.

There are two kinds of inflection, SIMPLE and COMPOUND.

1. A Simple Inflection is a single slide of the speaking voice upward, called the Rising Inflection (marked'), or downward, called the Falling Inflection (marked ').

2. A Compound Inflection is the union of the rising and falling inflections, and is called the Rising Circumflex (marked ˇ) when it begins with the falling and ends with the rising slide; and the Falling Circumflex (marked ^) when it begins with the rising and ends with the falling slide.

3. Monotone. When no inflection is used, and the words are repeated in an even tone, they are said to be uttered in a monotone (marked), which means one tone or the same tone.

Whenever any inflection is used, a positive, complete assertion takes the falling inflection (simple or compound), and all other ideas take the rising inflection.

I have read my lesson.

I will not do this again.
Will you go? No'.

Do wrong', and you will not be happy`.

When a question that can be answered by yes or no is asked simply for information, it contains no assertion, and, therefore, always requires the rising inflection. And the answers to direct questions always have the falling inflection if they simply give the information asked for.

But direct questions and the replies may contain a positive assertion, and, therefore, have the falling inflection.

Are you going now'? No.

If this question was not answered at first, and was repeated, it might be given: "Are you going now?" because it contains an assertion that it has been asked before. In full, it would read, "I have asked you once, and want you to say if you are going now." Still, the answer, expressing positive assertion, might be, "No." But if one were a little doubtful about going just at this time, the answer might show this by the emphasis of time and the rising (or circumflex) inflection: "N-o'."

They have mouths',- but they speak not`:
Eyes have they',—but they see not`:

They have ears',-but they hear not`.

"They have mouths," would be a direct complete assertion, but the rising inflection given in the exercise shows that it is incomplete as used, and is to be followed by something else.

The same is true of such sentences as Will you walk' or ride'?” “Will you take tea' or coffee'?" The rising inflection on ride and coffee changes the meaning and makes the two sentences direct questions:

Will you ride' or walk'? Will you take tea' or coffee'?

Sink' or swim', live or die`, survive' or perish', I give my heart and my hand to this vote.

"Sink' or swim', live' or die'," like "Will you ride' or walk'," contains an assertion that one of the two will be done, and, therefore, takes the falling inflection on the last word. The expression

means

I shall either sink or swim. I shall either live or die. I am willing to risk either on this vote.

He was a gentleman, I'd have you know.

The assertion in the last line ends in gentleman, which therefore has the falling inflection. The sentence really reads

I'd have you know that he was a gentleman.

This shows the reason for reading "I'd have you know" without special inflection.

PAUSES.

There are two kinds of pauses-the GRAMMATICAL PAUSE and the RHETORICAL PAUSE.

1. Grammatical Pauses (punctuation marks) are used to show the grammatical formation of the matter, so as to make