ŭ as in us, up, but, drum, dusk, trust.

u as in rude, brute, fruit, sure, true, construe, recruit.

ụ as in full, pull, put, push, cushion, bushel, pulpit, bullet.

u as in hurt, burr, cur, fur, furl, burst, purr, recur, curfew, furlong, surge, urn.

Note that ae in far and ȧ in ask are called long Italian a and short Italian a respectively. The quality of the sound is the same in each, but they differ in quantity, the latter being shorter.

The following vowels have the same sound:

ẽ (coalescent) and ĩ (coalescent);

oe as in do, u as in rude, and [oo=] as in food;

o as in word and u as in hurt;

ȯ as in love and u as in us.

After marking the vowels diacritically read the following passages, paying special attention to the vowel sounds:

So Lord Howard passed away with five ships of war that day.

That desperate grasp thy frame might feel Through bars of brass and triple steel.

The guide, abating of his pace, Led slowly through the pass's jaws, And asked Fitz-James by what strange cause He sought these wilds, traversed by few Without a pass from Roderick Dhu.

The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms, The heart outstretches its eager palms.

O listen, ladies, ladies gay! No haughty feat of arms I tell; Soft is the note, and sad the lay That mourns the lovely Rosabelle.

And when the Angel met him on his way, And half in earnest, half in jest, would say, Sternly, though tenderly, that he might feel The velvet scabbard held a sword of steel, "Art thou the King?" the passion of his woe Burst from him in resistless overflow, And, lifting high his forehead, he would fling The haughty answer back, "I am, I am the King!"

Then rest thee here till dawn of day; Myself will guide thee on the way, O'er stock and stone, through watch and ward, Till past Clan-Alpine's outmost guard, 'As far as Coilantogle's ford; From thence thy warrant is thy sword.

Around the keel that raced the dolphin and the shark Only the sand-wren twitters from barren dawn till dark; And all the long blank noon the blank sand chafes and mars The prow once swift to follow the lure of the dancing stars.

2. Distinguish the sound of ū in use, pure, duke, etc.,

from the sound of oo in food, hoof, mood, rood, roof, soot, aloof, and from the sound of oo in book, good, nook, hood, rook, look, foot, crook.

Read the following with special reference to these sounds:

Flew flashing under the blinding blue.

She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro' the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot.

Singing the bridal of sap and shoot, The tree's slow life between root and fruit.

... helter-skelter through the blue Like a crowd of frightened porpoises a shoal of sharks pursue.

While on dreary moorlands lonely curlew pipe.

My Lords, you have that true image of the primitive Church in its ancient form, in its ancient ordinances, purified from the superstitions and vices which a long succession of ages will bring upon the best institutions.

3. Double and triple consonant endings present difficulties of articulation:—Robbed, bragged, divulged, mends, breathed, gossips, casques, barracks, depths, heights, lengths, breadths, lists, aspects, seethes, thirsteth, breathest, sheath'st, melt'st, search'st, sixths, twelfths, tests.

Read with special reference to the articulation of the final consonants:

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!

Scattering down the snow-flakes off the curdled sky.

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked.

The guests are met, the feast is set May'st hear the merry din.

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Spirit that breathest through my lattice, Thou that cool'st the twilight of the sultry day.

He groped toward the door, but it was locked, He cried aloud, and listened, and then knocked, And uttered awful threatenings and complaints, And imprecations upon men and saints.

It glared on Roslin's castled rock, It ruddied all the copse-wood glen; 'Twas seen from Dryden's groves of oak, And seen from caverned Hawthornden.

Skilful artists thou employest, And in chastest beauty joyest, Forms most delicate, pure, and clear, Frost-caught star-beams, fallen sheer In the night, and woven here In jewel-fretted tapestries.

4. Sound distinctly the ending ing in: Languishing, blackening, threatening, rushing, ascending, flashing, throbbing.

Roughening their crests and scattering high their spray, And swelling the white sail.

Blazing with light and breathing with perfume.

. . . . a revolting shape Shivering and chattering sat the wretched ape. Lakelets' lisping wavelets lapping, Round a flock of wild ducks napping, And the rapturous-noted wooings, And the molten-throated cooings Of the amorous multitudes Flashing through the dusky woods, When a veering wind hath blown A glare of sudden daylight down.

5. Sound final d in "and":

Rest and a guide, and food and fire.

Away from the world, and its toils and its cares.

And the sun went down and the stars came out.

Peace, and order, and beauty draw Round thy symbol of light and law.

East and west, and south and north The messengers ride fast, And tower, and town, and cottage, Have heard the trumpet's blast.

Blood and fire on the streaming decks, And fire and blood below; The heat of hell, and the reek of hell, And the dead men laid a-row!

6. Articulate distinctly words in which the same or similar sounds immediately succeed each other:

Spanish ships of war at sea.

At Flores, in the Azores, Sir Richard Grenville lay.

Come Roderick Dhu, And of his clan the boldest two.

Saint Fanny, my patroness sweet I declare.

Cast off earth's sorrows and know what I know,

When into the glad deep woods I go.

The silver vessels sparkle clean.

From the sails the dew did drip.

The sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

Thousands of their seamen looked down from their decks and laughed.

7. Sound the letter h in what, while, where, when, which, whether, white, whiten, whine, whist, etc.

8. Avoid the sound of u in:

for, from, was, because, when, what, etc.

for coalescent e in: her, earn, verse, mercy, verge, serge, prefer, ermine, etc.

for ĕ in: enemy, events, poem, etc.

for ĭ in: spirit, family, credible, visible, charity, unity, sanity, humanity, ruin, promise, divide, divisible, dissolve, languid, negative, similar, abominable, imitate, inimitable, purity, native, etc.

for i (coalescent) in: sir, bird, girl, first, virgin, etc.

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Ruin seize thee, ruthless King!

A wind from the lands they had ruin'd.

Who was her father? Who was her mother? Had she a sister? Had she a brother? Or was there a dearer one Still, and a nearer one Yet, than all other?

Alas! for the rarity Of Christian charity Under the sun! Oh! it was pitiful! Near a whole city full Home she had none.

9. Avoid the sound of ch for t in: fortune, fortunate, future, futurity, nature, natural, picture, feature, etc.

King Robert's self in features, form and height.

For this man so vile and bent of stature Rasped harshly against his dainty nature.

One more unfortunate Weary of breath, Rashly importunate Gone to her death.



B

PHYSICAL EXERCISES

(These exercises form a course by themselves and should not be introduced into the regular reading lesson.)

BREATHING.—The proper management of the breath is of the greatest importance in speaking and reading. Inhalation and exhalation should be gradual and natural, not spasmodic. The reader should never allow his supply of breath to be wholly exhausted, but should replenish it at regular intervals. Inhalation should be through the nostrils, not the mouth. This prevents gasping, and promotes and preserves a healthy condition of the vocal organs. It is not necessary to keep the mouth closed in order that the breath be inhaled through the nostrils. Inhalation may be effected when the mouth is open by allowing the tip of the tongue to touch the upper palate. All breathing exercises should be deep, commencing with the abdomen, and should expand the chest to the fullest capacity.

Exercise I. Stand erect in a well ventilated room. Inhale slowly from the abdomen while counting five, hold the breath while counting five, and exhale while counting five.

Repeat this exercise, gradually increasing the count by one until the maximum of ten or fifteen is reached.

Exercise II. Practise the preceding exercise in the open air while walking, taking five steps while inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling respectively. The count may be increased as in the preceding.

Exercise III. Stand erect, arms akimbo, fingers pressing the abdominal muscles in front, thumbs on the dorsal muscles on each side of the spine. Rise slowly on the toes while inhaling, hold the breath while standing on tiptoe, and exhale while gradually resuming the original position. In each case regulate the count as in the preceding exercises.

Exercise IV. Stand erect, arms hanging loosely at the sides. Inhale slowly, rising on the toes, clenching the fists with gradually increased intensity, and raising them to the arm-pits. Expel the breath suddenly, dropping back to the original position.

CHEST AND LUNGS.—Gymnastic exercises, such as develop the chest and lungs, are of great importance, since they regulate the breathing capacity.

Exercise I. Stand erect, arms hanging loosely at the sides. Raise the arms slowly to the vertical position over the head, making the hands meet with palms outward, the thumb of the left hand over the right, rising on the toes at the same time; then let the arms fall apart slowly to their original position, while coming down on the heels.

Exercise II. Stand erect as in the preceding. Bring the arms slowly forward until the hands meet on a level with the mouth, bending forward slightly and rising on the toes; then throw back the arms in a circular movement, allowing them to fall to their original position, coming down on the heels at the same time.

Exercise III. Raise the hands above the head; bring down the elbows to the sides; shoot out the hands in front; bring in the elbows to the sides; shoot down the hands toward the floor; firing up the elbows to the sides. Repeat. This exercise may be practised with hands clenched.

THROAT AND NECK.—Exercises of the throat and neck develop and keep flexible the vocal cords, which are of prime importance in producing pure tones.

Exercise I. Stand erect. Look at the ceiling; allow the head to drop backward as far as possible; then bring the head slowly forward until the chin rests on the chest. Repeat.

Exercise II. Stand erect. Twist the head slowly to the left, without moving the shoulders, until the chin is parallel to the left shoulder; then slowly twist the head to the right, without moving the shoulders, until the chin is parallel to the right shoulder. Repeat.

Exercise III. Press the head to the left until the left ear rests almost on the left shoulder, raising the right arm above the head at the same time. Practise this exercise, pressing the head to the right and raising the left arm. Repeat.

MOUTH.—To produce the finest tones of the voice, three conditions of the mouth are necessary:

(1) The mouth must be well opened. (2) The vocal aperture must be large. (3) The jaws must be flexible.

If the mouth is well opened the tones are full; if partially closed they are muffled. The vocal aperture is the opening in the rear of the mouth produced by the elevation of the uvula, and the depression of the root of the tongue and the larynx. The purity and richness of the voice depend, to a great extent, upon the capacity of the vocal aperture. If it is of small capacity, or contracted, the tones are impure and nasal.

The mode of producing pure tones can be studied best before a mirror placed so that the light falls upon the back part of the mouth.

Exercise I. Open the mouth to the fullest extent and close rapidly. Repeat.

Exercise II. Open the mouth to the fullest extent, so that the uvula rises and almost disappears, and the root of the tongue and larynx are depressed. The action is similar to yawning, and to accomplish it "think a yawn", if necessary.



C

LIST OF REFERENCE BOOKS.

How to Teach Reading in the Public Schools. S. H. Clark. (Scott, Foresman & Co.)

The Voice and Spiritual Education. Hiram Corson. (Macmillan & Co.)

The Aims of Literary Study. Hiram Corson. (Macmillan & Co.)

Practical Elocution. Fulton and Trueblood. (Ginn & Co.)

Elementary Phonetics. A.W. Burt. (The Copp, Clark Co., Limited.)

Enunciation and Articulation. Ella M. Boyce. (Ginn & Co.)

Clear Speaking and Good Reading. Arthur Burrell. (Longmans, Green & Co.)

Reading as a Fine Art. Ernest Legouve. (Penn Publishing Co., Philadelphia.)

Lessons in Vocal Expression. S. S. Curry. (The Expression Co., Boston.)

THE END