his fellows, and dispute with them for supremacy. In this age, no man, if his acquirements warrant him worthy of such high vassalage, is safe from being made the public's servant; and, acting in that capacity, he may often be called upon to explain to his masters the plans by which he intends to advance their interests. If he would do this well, he must be taught how, and for such tuition he must look to the school-room. Practice in reciting the written thoughts of others wil give him confidence to speak his own when needful. Subject to the criticism of rival school-fellows and the strictures of his teachers, he can not fail to acquire that ease of action so indispensable to a public speaker, a command of voice not otherwise to be obtained, and a fluency of speech which will set stammering at defiance. Every man is liable to be called upon, perhaps at a few moments' notice, to explain his opinions on certain matters, important or otherwise, and to do so with case is most requisite. Ease implies knowledge, and "knowledge is power." To offer the young student facilities by which to acquire confidence in expressing his thoughts in public, is the object of this work. Should this be gained, much will have been accomplished worthy of commendation. Elocution, as a branch of education, deserves great consideration, from the fact that it can be applied advantageously nearly every moment. Speech being a faculty common to all mankind, the most expeditious method by which to convey ideas, it follows that it should be cultivated, its scope enlarged, its system perfected. Civilized nations have always been aware of the great importance of a study pertaining to this design, though they have in many respects failed in giving it its due share of attention. The ancients, particularly the Greeks and Romans, seem to have been fully conscious of the great benefits resulting from a close attention to, and practice of such rules as are fitted to advance the orator in his profession. Their schools for the study of eloquence were frequented by students from all parts of the known world. They established prizes to be awarded to those who, contesting for the palm of excellence, were the victors. Nor were their greatest orators ashamed to acknowledge, that, apart from the mere influence of genius, to the external part of oratory --the management of the voice, expression of the countenance, and the gestures of the head, body, etc. were they indebted for a large portion of their success. They found that to work systematically was to insure them expeditious progress; that the art of delivery must be studied with particular diligence. Pronunciation, or delivery, as we call it, Demosthenes considered to be the charm aratory; without which it must fail in its effect upon those sought to be convinced or moved. A composition teeming with defects, false in Its reasoning, vicious in its moral, if delivered by an accomplished ora. tor will take precedence in most minds over one noble in sentiments profound in object, spoken by one incapable of investing it with the charm of delivery. Can it be wondered at, in view of this fact, that to the art of delivery the ancients attached an importance almost equal to that of composition? The failure of Demosthenes before he culti vated this art with sufficient care, and his extraordinary success after. ward, induced him value delivery in preference to every other requisite which goes to form the perfect orator. We would not have our students emulate the ancients so far as to render themselves liable to the charge made by Cæsar against some of his cotemporaries, who, he averred, in their practice went so far as to take to themselves the drudgery of the theater; but we would impress upon the understanding of all, that, without giving to the external part of oratory the important consideration it demands, they will signally fail in their desire for eminence. We would say to the young man, study. You may be called upon to occupy a seat in those legislative halls whose walls yet echo with the speeches of a Clay or a Webster,-those mighty dead, the thunder of whose eloquence, reverberating through all time, shall monument their memory in the hearts of all. You may chance to stand, in the exercise of your vocation, before a jury on whose decision rests the life of a human being, the happiness of anxious friends; then, versed in your profession, if you call to your aid the magic charm of that oratory which convinces and subdues by its exercise, moving to mercy the stern law, rescuing from its grasp an innocent victim and restoring him to the boson of his friends, you will find a sweet reward for all your toil. Perhaps you may, as a preacher of the gospel, become an expounder of its lessons. To you will then belong the task of winning from the pursuit of error your fellow-man; and to do this requires in you the exercise of every persuasive art; you must be competent to lead, whom you would persuade. No matter if your compositions do "smell of the amp," they will be the better for it; for it is in the opinion of weak intellects alone, that sound logic, correct rhetorical ornament, lucid order, and laborious research, are fit only for the drudgery of dullness. Allow such prejudices to pre vail, and though possessed of all the learn ing, all the genius that Heaven has lavished upon man, our public speakers will ever fall short of the orators of antiquity, whom they must be content to admire at an humble distance. THE EXHIBITION SPEAKER. CHAPTER I. THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Elocution has been defined "the art of reading and speaking well;" therefore, to acquire this art the reader or speaker must have a perfect knowledge of the elementary sounds of the English language. Without this knowledge he will be unable to articulate correctly, and errors in articulation deprive a language of all its force and beauty. No matter how correct and worthy of attention a speaker's sentiments may be, if the words used in delivering them are hurried over precipitately, drawled, or allowed to slip out carelessly, their effect will be dissipated and entirely lost. There has been too little attention bestowed upon the study of the elements, and to this cause may be attributed the fact that there are so few really good readers or speakers among those whose profession does not imperatively demand that they acquaint themselves perfectly with the elementary sounds of our language. To cultivate the voice by exercise upon the elements, will give it a melodious fullness that can not perhaps be acquired by any other process; when thus cultivated, it will take such inflections and intonations as the speaker may desire to give it, without effort on his part. The number of elements in our language is thirty eight. |