ELEMENTS OF WHICH THE DIPHTHONGAL SOUNDS ARE MADE UP.

I is composed of the eleventh and first sounds; Oi, of the twelfth and first; Ow, of the twelfth and seventh; and U, of the eighth and seventh sounds.

SUBVOCALS.

CORRELATIVES.

19. b, as in babe, web; b stops with the light sound of p.

31. r, (the hard or trill sound) as in rise, drum, roar.

32. r (the soft sound) at the end of the word, as in roar

fear.

As the words Pitch, Force, Stress, Quantity, Quality, Movement, and other terms will frequently occur in the exercises upon the clementary sounds, it is proper at this point to define them.

PITCH signifies the place in the musical scale on which the element, syllable, or word is sounded; or it may refer to the pervading pitch of the voice in reading or speaking. The following distinctions may be made in pitch: very low, low, middle, or conversational, high, and very high.

FORCE relates to the loudness of the sound, the degrees of which may be described as suppressed, subdued, moderate, energetic, and vehement.

STRESS relates to the different modes of applying force. MONOTONE. When the pitch of the voice continues the

same, and when the same degree of force is kept up from the commencement to the close of the sound, it is called the monotone.

SWELL. When the force is gradually increased so as to swell out the sound as it advances toward the middle, and then as gradually vanishes into silence, it is called the swell, or medium stress.

EXPULSIVE RADICAL STRESS. In this the force is applied so as to swell out the first part of the syllable or sound, and gradually diminish on the vanishing part of the sound.

EXPLOSIVE RADICAL STRESS occurs when the first part of a syllable is given with great abruptness and percussive force. The short vocals when uttered in this way furnish examples of it.

VANISHING STRESS occurs when the sound gradually expands as it swells onward, then suddenly terminates with a vocal explosion, similar to that heard in the explosive radical stress.

QUANTITY relates to the length of time the voice dwells upon a syllable or word. The following passage, if properly expressed, will furnish an example of long quantity:

"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!"and the following, of short quantity, if uttered in a tone of excitement and defiance: 66 Fret, till your proud heart

breaks!"

QUALITY relates to the kind of voice. The words commonly used to describe it are, clear, husky, harsh, mellow, rough, smooth, deep, thin, heavy, light, boyish, girlish.

MOVEMENT relates to the degree of rapidity with which the voice moves in the utterance of sounds, syllables, and words. The degrees of rapidity are, very slow, slow, moderate, lively, rapid, and very rapid.

The rules and exercises in Elocution may be classified under the two principal heads of

ARTICULATION AND EXPRESSION.

ARTICULATION includes the rules and exercises upon the elementary sounds in syllabication, in analysis, in accent, and in pronunciation.

EXPRESSION includes the rules and exercises which relate to the management of the voice, the look, gesture, and action, in the expression of thought, sentiment, and passion.

The exercises in articulation are those to which the attention of the pupil should be almost exclusively given, until a good control of the voice has been obtained.

A good articulation consists in giving to cach element in a syllable its due proportion of sound and correct expression, so that the ear can readily distinguish every word, and every syllable that is uttered.

A full, pure tone of voice, and a good articulation, constitute the basis of every other excellence in reading and oratory.

PURE TONE.

PURE TONE is expressed with less expenditure of breatn than any other quality of voice; it is smooth, resonant, and agreeable, and entirely free from any aspirated, guttural, or other impure quality of vocal sound.

The most severe and sustained exercise of the voice in pure tone, if the voice be pitched aright, is not only unattended with any bad effect upon the lungs and throat. but, on the contrary, tends to strengthen and invigorate them, and fortifies the whole system against the invasion of disease.

To command a full, resonant, and pure tone of voice. these conditions are indispensable:

First, a full and copious breathing, as described in xercises 1 and 2.

Second, a free and natural action of the abdominal muscles, in the inhalation and expulsion of the breath.

KIDD.-2

Third, the muscles which regulate the action of the jaw must be relaxed.

Fourth, the throat and the mouth must be kept well open, so as to give free course to the sound.

Any one who expects to derive practical benefit from the following rules and exercises, must study them carefully and practice them regularly, systematically, and energet ically. Begin with the first rule, and master it so thor oughly that you can readily give a correct exemplification of it; then take up the next rule and its accompanying exercises, and so proceed to the last example in the book.

POSITIONS OF THE TEETH AND LIPS

IN THE UTTERANCE OF THE DIFFERENT OPEN VOWEL SOUNDS

In sounding element No. 1, the teeth must be separated about half an inch, and the corners of the mouth drawn well backward.

In No. 2 the teeth must be separated, at least threequarters of an inch, and the corners of the mouth drawn farther back than in No. 1.

In No. 3 the teeth must be separated a little farther still, and the opening of the mouth must be more enlarged than in No. 2.

In No. 4 the mouth must be thrown wide open, and the corners drawn still farther back than in No. 3.

In No. 5 the teeth must be separated about the same distance as in No. 4, the lips pressed forward and the aperture of the mouth diminished.

In No. 6 the teeth must be brought nearer together, the lips pressed farther out, and the aperture of the mouth made much smaller than in No. 5.

In No. 7 the lips must be pressed farther outward, and more tightly together than in No. 6.

TO FIND THE EXACT SOUND OF ANY ELEMENT.-Stand or sit perfectly at ease, drop the jaw, so as to keep the throat and mouth open, then take in a full breath, draw the