EXERCISES. He devoted his attention chiefly to literary pursuits. He is a miserable creature. He is a venerable man. His faults were owing to the degeneracy of the times. The manuscript was undecipherable. The confederacy continued for many years. His spirit was unconquerable. It was a grand accompaniment. Luther and Melancthon were cotemporaries. Great industry was necessary for the performance of the task. 5. Blending the end of one word with the beginning of the next. ered? EXAMPLES. I court thy gif sno more. Bag sof gold. Han d'me the slate. The grove swere God sfir stemples. For man' sillusion given. My hear twas a mirror, that show' devery treasure. EXERCISES. The magistrates ought to arrest the rogues speedily. He went over the mountain. Linked to thy side, through every chance I go. But had he seen an actor in our days enacting Shakspeare. We caught a glimpse of her. Crowded houses and new pieces. Old age has on their temples shed her silver frost. QUESTIONS.-Under what heads is the subject of Elocution considWhat is the first source of defective articulation that is named? Give examples. What is the second? Give examples. Name the third, and give examples. What is the fourth? Give examples. Describe the fifth fault, and illustrate by examples. DIRECTIONS FOR ACQUIRING A GOOD ARTICULATION. WORDS being made up of one or more elementary sounds, the first object of the student should be, to acquire the power of uttering those elements with distinctness and force; for if the elementary sounds are but imperfectly formed, the entire word must be indistinct. Practice upon these sounds should be persevered in, until the learner has acquired a perfect control of his organs of speech. This exercise is one of great importance, as, in addition to the habit of correct articulation thus formed, it imparts a strength to the voice, which can not be acquired in any other way. As the vowels are the most prominent elements of all words, as well as the most easily uttered, it is proper that they should constitute the first lesson. Each of these can be uttered with great force, so as to give a distinct expression of its sound, although the voice is suddenly suspended, the moment the sound is produced. This is done by expelling each sound from the throat in the same manner that the syllable "ah!" is uttered in endeavoring to deter a child from something it is about to do; thus, a'—a'-a'—. Let the pupil be required to explode from the throat, in this manner, every one of the elements, in the following table, with all possible suddenness and percussive force, until he is able to do it with ease and accuracy. This must not be considered as accomplished, until he can give each sound with entire clearness, and with all the suddenness of the "crack" of a rifle. Care must be taken that the sound of the vowel alone be heard. EXERCISE ON VOWEL ELEMENTS. Pronounce each word, and then its vowel sounds. a as heard in fate, main, say, they, feint, weigh, break, &c. bar, car, ah, vaunt, heart, guard, &c. ball, hall, cause, saw, broad, groat, sought, gone, &c. e as heard in feel, me, sea, neither, key, seize, piece, marine, people, &c. let, met, tread, said, says, friend, heifer, leopard, guess, many, bury, &c. mine, pine, lie, fly, hight, guise, aisle, rye, &c. pit, pin, mountain, forfeit, guilt, been, seive, busy. old, go, door, roam, toe, soul, hollow, bureau, yeoman, &c. not, hot, blot, trot, &c. what, was, swap, &c. ,, move, prove, moon, soup, shoe, &c. muse, blue, juice, hew, view, lieu, feud, beauty, &c. full, pull, push, bush, &c. wool, good, book, could, &c. but, hut, cull, &c. dove, son, blood, does, &c. boil, oil, boy, &c. u 9.F oi ou 34 curl, fur, bird, her, &c. ,, our, ground, owl, power, &c. NOTE.—After the pupil has been faithfully exercised in the foregoing table, it will be well to require him to explode all the vowel elements in several sentences of every lesson he reads. CONSONANT SOUNDS. Ir may, at first view, seem impossible to give the sound of a consonant alone; but a few attempts will show, that although it may be difficult, it is not impossible. It is true, they can not be exploded with the force which vowel sounds admit, yet they can all, except k, t, and p, be pronounced without the aid of vowels, and their sounds prolonged so as to give them great distinctness. Let the syllable ba be taken for example; and in pronouncing it, let the voice be suddenly suspended, before it passes to the vowel. In this manner every consonant element should be practiced upon, until the pupil can give the sound forcibly and distinctly. Without such practice it will be found impossible to utter with distinctness such combinations of consonants as the following, viz: waftedst, slumber' dst, search'dst, lash'dst, &c. Articulation is more frequently defective from an imperfect utterance of the consonant sounds, than from any other cause. These, therefore, require strict attention. The following are the consonant elements susceptible of explosive force in a greater or less degree. When the pupil has acquired some facility in exploding the foregoing consonant elements, it will be found profitable to require him to combine with each of them, one of the vowel elements, giving the utmost prolongation to the consonant sound; thus, ab—b; eb—b; ib-b; ad-d; ed—d; id—d; &c., &c. Then let him go over the same exercise, placing the consonant first; thus, b-be; d-de; g-ga; m—mo, &c. EXERCISES ON COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANT ELEMENTS. Some of these sentences are selected with reference to the correction of the habit of dropping the unaccented vowel. He is a man of great sensibility and susceptibility. The swallow twittered at the eaves. Canst thou not be satisfied? He begged to be permitted to stay. They searched the house speedily. They dragged the ruffian to prison. Bursting his bonds, he sprang upon the foe. He can not tolerate a papist. Shot madly from its sphere. When will the landscape tire the view? The lightnings flashed. The thunders roared. The hail rattled. His hand in mine was fondly clasped. Stand your ground, my braves. He gasped for breath. I'll grapple with my country's foes. He selected his texts with great care. The unsearched mine hath not such gems. His lips grow restless, and his smile is curled half into scorn Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. He has singed his hair. What further wait'st thou for? She milked six cows. Give me a yard and three eighths. Ha! laugh'st thou, Lochiel, my vision to scorn? The chill precincts of the narrow house. Oh! breeze that waft'st me on my way. Thou prob❜dst his wounds too freely. Vaunt'st thou thyself of thy strength? Thou boast'st of what should be thy shame. Thou pluck'dst a bitter fruit. Disabl'dst strangl'dst, burn'dst. From depths unknown, unsearchable, profound. The line too labors and the words move slow. One blast upon his bugle-horn were worth ten thousand men. Life's fitful fever over, he rests well. This sculptor has executed three busts. From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, Back to the joyous Alps, which call to her aloud. Thou that dost scare the world with tempests set on fire, *Beware of running words together. |