5. Mark the time by marching. The class should march, in file, on a line, in the form of the figure eight (8), and pronounce, after the teacher, an element at every step. Should the class be large, two columns may be formed, which should march in opposite directions. Meanwhile, two, or more pupils, standing out from the class, may keep time with the dumb-bells. SYLLABLE RHYTHM. 6. When the pupil cannot mark the rhythm of poetry, he should first beat time on every syllable, in either, or in all, of the ways which have been described. 7. The rhythm of poetry should be marked by a beat on the accented part of the measure, which, in the following examples, is the first syllable after each vertical bar. Lines supposed to have been written by Alexander Selkirk, during his solitary abode on the Island of Juan Fernandez. (COWPER.) none to dis- | pute; I am monarch of all I sur- Ivey, 1 I must finish my journey a- lone; 98 shq-sdq à, å, à, â ; a R2 101 FIRST PERIOD.* Bshq R2 114 102 B veq R2 br-R 1,1; 103 B sdq ou. * These two periods of gesture are intended as examples; others may be supplied by the teacher, as occasion shall require. Every variety of action should be practised, in connexion with the elementary exercises of the voice; and the pupil should be careful to mark the stroke of the gesture with precision. These exercises are introductory to declamation. They should be practised in the most energetic manner, and be persevered in till the muscles of the trunk and limbs act harmoniously with those of the voice. FIFTEENTH EXERCISE. PRONUNCIATION. The article a should have the sound of a in an, thus - He was å man; not à man. When, however, this article is emphatic (which is seldom the case), it should have the sound of a in ale, thus- Did you say a man, or the man? When the article the precedes a word beginning with a vowel, it should be pronounced the; when it precedes a word beginning with a consonant, it should be pronounced the, thus-The arts and thẻ sciences. But, when the precedes a word beginning with a consonant, and is emphatic, it should be pronounced the, thus — Did you say a man or the man? The pronoun my, when emphatic, is pronounced ml; when not emphatic, it is generally pronounced me. Sometimes the perspicuity of a sentence requires my to be pronounced ml, when this pronoun is not emphatic, as in the following example: “And the pale stars shall be at night, Should my, in the above example, be pronounced me, by a public speaker, the auditors might suppose the meaning of the passage to be as follows: And the pale stars shall be at night, Euphony sometimes requires my, when not emphatic, to be pronounced ml. The following passages are examples: 66 "When it My brave associates." "Hear me for my cause." shall please my country to need my death.” Mine should always be pronounced mine, not mean; by should always be pronounced bl, not bee; to should be pronounced to, not tů; of should be pronounced ov, not ův; and from should be pronounced from, not frům. The pronunciation of many other words, liable to be pronounced wrong, is given in the foot-notes under the EXERCISES IN READING AND DECLAMATION. SIXTEENTH EXERCISE. DECLAMATION. Before the student attempts to declaim, he should learn to stand erect; to hold his book in a proper manner, and to read correctly. He should then select some short piece, and learn a set of gestures for its illustration by practising them in pantomime, after the teacher. Lastly, he should learn to combine the words and gestures, by repeating them together, after the teacher. |