tom, without any compass upwards. In other cases, it has a good top, but no compass below its key. Extreme instances to the contrary there may be, but commonly, I have no doubt that when a speaker uses only a note or two, above and below the key, it arises from habit, and not from organic defect. Few indeed have, or could by any means acquire, the versatility of vocal power, by which Whitefield could imitate the tones of the female or the infant voice, at one time, and at another, strike his hearers with awe, by the thundering note of his under key. Nor is this power essential to an interesting delivery. On the other hand, there are few, if any, who could not, by proper pains in cultivating the voice, give it all the compass which is requisite to grave and dignified oratory.

As I cannot dwell on this point, it may be useful to say briefly, that when the voice of the young speaker is found to be wanting in compass, I would advise him, in the first place, to try an experiment, similar to that which was suggested, p. 107, for increasing strength or loudness. of sound, without change of key. Suppose he takes the same line;

O, you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome !

and reads it first on the lowest note, on which he can articulate. Then let him repeat it a note higher, and so on, till he reaches the highest note of his voice. His compass being ascertained, by such an experiment, on a few words, he may then practise reading passages of some length, on that part of his voice which he especially wishes to improve; taking care, in this more protracted exercise, not to pitch on the extreme note of his voice, either

way, so far as to preclude some variety above or below, to correspond with natural delivery.

In the second place, I would advise him to read passages where the sentiment and style are specially adapted to the purpose he has in view. If he wishes to cultivate the bottom of his voice, selections from narrative or didactic composition may be made, which will allow him to begin a new sentence, in a note nearly as low, as that in which he finished the preceding. Or he may take passages of poetry, in which the simile occurs, a figure that generally requires a low and equable movement of voice..

If he wishes to increase his compass on the higher notes, let him choose passages in which spirited emotion prevails; especially such as have a succession of interrogative sentences. These will incline the voice, spontaneously, to adopt thoseel evated tones on which he wishes to cultivate its strength. Instead of giving examples here, to illustrate these principles, I refer the reader to EXERCISES, [24] where a few selections are made for this purpose.

25] SECT. 7.--Transition.

By this I mean those sudden changes of voice which often occur in delivery. This article, and those which follow upon modulation, are chiefly intended to combine and apply the principles of the preceding sections. The whole object is, to elucidate that one, standing law of delivery, that vocal tones should correspond, in variety, with sentiment; in contradistinction from monotony, and from that variety which is either accidental or mechanical. In

this spontaneous coincidence, by which the voice changes its elevation, rate, strength, &c. in conformity with emotion, consists that excellence which is universally felt and admired, in the manner of a good speaker.

To designate these changes, besides the rhetorical marks already employed to denote inflections, it will be necessary to adopt several new ones; and the following may answer the purpose; signifying that the voice is to be modified, in reading what follows the marks respectively, thus :-

(°) high.

(°°) high and loud.
(..) slow.

(。) low.
(oo) low and loud.
( || ) rhetorical pause.

In respect to the four first, when one of them occurs, it must be left to the reader's taste to determine how far its influence extends in what follows. In respect to this mark (..) it may be used to signify a considerable protraction of sound on that syllable, which precedes it, and then it will be inserted in the course of the line, without brackets.

When the same mark is designed to signify that a passage is to be uttered with a slow rate, it will be inserted thus ( ... ) where that passage begins,--the extent of its influence being left to the reader's taste; or it may be com

bined with another mark, thus, (:) which would signify low and slow.

I beg leave to add, that as the utility of this notation may be doubted by some, and as I am not sanguine respecting it myself, it is suggested only as an experiment, on a most difficult branch of elocution. If applied with judgment, it may be useful; and it will at least be harmless to those who choose to pass it by.*

I proceed now to explain myself more fully on the subject of vocal transition, admonishing the reader, that, in the examples, and in the Exercises, a word in Italic has the common emphasis, while small capitals are occasionally used to denote a still more intensive stress.

Any one who has a good command of his voice, can use it with a higher or lower, a stronger or feebler note, at pleasure. This distinction is perfectly made, (as I have said before,) even by a child, in speaking to one who is near, and to one who is distant. In rhetorical reading, when we pass from simple narrative to direct address, especially when the address is to distant persons, a correspondent transition of voice is demanded. Many examples of this sort may be found in the Paradise Lost, from which the following are selected :

-The cherubim,

Forth issuing at the accustom'd hóur, stood arm'd
To their night watches, in warlike párade,
When Gabriel to his next in pow'r thus spake.
(0°) Uzziel! || half these draw off, and coast the south,
With strictest watch;-these other, || wheel the north;
Our circuit meets full west.

* Since the first edition was published, I have become satisfied that no part of the book is more adapted to be useful than this.

Every reader of taste will perceive, that the three last lines, in this case, must be spoken in a much bolder and higher voice than the preceding.

Another fine example may be seen in the sublime description of Satan, which ends with a speech to his associates, full of authority and reprehension. It is so long, that I shall give only parts of it, sufficient to show the transition.

(..)He scarce had ceas'd, when the superior fiend

Was moving tow'rd the shòre; his pond'rous shield,
Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round,

Behind him cast; the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the mòon.

on the beach

Of that inflamed sea he stood, || and call'd

His legions, angel fòrms ;

He call'd so loud, that all the hollow deep

Of hell resounded. (0°) Prínces,-Potentáles,

WA'RRIORS! || the flow'r of heav'n, once yours, now lòst :
If such astonishment as this can seize

Eternal spirits.

Here again, where the thought changes, from descrip+ tion to vehement address, to continue the voice in the simple tones of narrative, would be intolerably tame. It should rise to a higher and firmer utterance, on the passage beginning with, "Princes,-potentates," &c.

In these cases, the change required consists chiefly in key and quantity. But there are other cases, in which these may be included, while the change consists also in the qualities of the voice.