body should be in an erect position, and all the muscles more or less relaxed, In order to strengthen the higher tones of the voice, according to Mr. Walker, such passages should be practised as require the high tones. These are particularly a succession of questions ending with the rising inflection. For the middle tones, passionate speeches requiring them should be practised; and for bringing down the voice (which is apt to run wild, and not to be in our power when long continued "above"), the succeeding sentence is to be begun (if the subject admit) and delivered in a lower

tone.

Management of the Voice.-The principles of the proper management of the voice depend on due attention, in the first place, to articulation and pronunciation, and, secondly, to the five accidents of speech, the adoption of the proper pitch, and the study of a pleasing variety of tone. The lungs are to be kept always, to a certain degree, inflated, so that the voice shall not at any time be run out of breath. The air which is necessarily expended, must be gradually recovered at the proper times, and in the proper places.

PITCH OF THE VOICE,

There are three principal kinds of pitch in the voice, viz., the middle or ordinary pitch, in which. the greater part of every discourse ought to be

delivered; the low pitch, in descent from the middle one; and the high or elevated pitch, in ascent from

the same.

A well-formed middle tone is capable of filling any room, and the neglect of strengthening the voice in this key, leads a speaker to adopt a high shouting note, from which exhaustion and hoarseness ensue. A thorough command over the low notes of the voice, unmistakably marks the finished speaker. It is a rare accomplishment, but a most valuable principle in oratøry; and as it is much easier to raise than to lower the pitch in a discourse, it is found to be a common fault to fall into the high pitch. Here, a change of key will be necessary, and it must take place, in the same manner as in music, after a considerable pause. A speaker, then, should be cautious in the commencement of his discourse, and so construct the spirited parts, that they shall only occasionally run him into the high tones of his voice, and not detain him there. too long.

Below what is here called the low pitch, comes the whisper, which may be reckoned among the varieties of vocality. These varieties are the natural, falsetto, whisper, hollow, and guttural. The whisper is twofold-the theatrical or articulated, and the lip-whisper of private discourse.

It is no very difficult matter," says Mr. Walker, to be loud in a high tone of voice; but, to be loud and forcible in a low tone, requires

great practice and management: this, however, may be facilitated by pronouncing forcibly at first in a low monotone: a monotone, though in a low key, and without force, is much more sonorous and audible than when the voice slides up and down at almost every word, as it must do to be various. This tone is adopted by actors when they repeat passages aside. They are to give the idea of speaking to themselves, in such a manner as not to be heard by the person with them on the stage, and yet must necessarily be heard by the whole theatre. The monotone, in a low key, answers both these purposes. It conveys the idea of being audible to the actors with them in the scene, by being in a lower tone than that used in the dialogue; and, by being in a monotone, becomes audible to the whole house. The monotone, therefore, becomes an excellent vehicle for such passages as require force and audibility in a low tone, and in the hands of a judicious reader or speaker, is a perpetual source of variety."

GESTURE.

As every passion has its peculiar tone of voice. so also has it its peculiar look and gesture to accompany it. In proportion to the infinite variety of tones in the human voice, so also is there a proportionate variety of gestures and motions of the body, Emotion can be exhibited by the energy of action, even as it can by the most judicious use of the speaking organs. Extraordinary vehemence in speaking requires a tension of the muscles, proportioned to the strength of the passion delineated. In the plaintive, the gesture is generally slow and languid, and quite the opposite in the gay and lively. The gloomy or solemn requires dignity, slowness of action, and gestures that denote awe and oppression of the feelings.

The use of Gesture upon the stage requires to be adapted to the character which the actor personates, so that grace and elegance of manner are sometimes necessarily sacrificed, in order to exhibit the natural features of the part. For instance, the characters

of Shylock and Sir Giles Overreach would require a very different style of gesture from that necessary in the characters of King John and Hamlet. The action of a blacksmith, a cobbler, or a peasant would likewise be different from that used by a courtier or a knight of chivalry-for we must always observe the golden rule of “holding the mirror up to Nature," whatever the character that is to be portrayed.

Gesture may be defined "a just and elegant adaptation of every part of the body to the nature and import of the subject on which we are speaking." Under gesture is comprehended the action and position of all the parts of the body: of the head, the shoulders, the body or trunk; of the arms, hands, and fingers; of the lower limbs, and of the feet.

Gesture is divided into three kinds-Colloquial, Rhetorical, and Epic.

Colloquial gesture is such as is suited to polite. conversation, and to the delivery of lectures from books. Room is not left here for any display, so that whatever gesture is used must be short-that is, the elbow must be considered the centre of motion, and, therefore, will seldom leave the side. Simplicity and grace are the chief requisites for this style. It may be used in the tranquil parts of an oration.

Rhetorical gesture principally requires energy, variety, simplicity, precision, and grace. The hand not using gesture should always hang loosely at the