EXAMPLES OF "SEMITONE."

1. Affectionate Sympathy.

Pure Tone:" "Impassioned" Force: "Vanishing Stress," and "Tremor: ""High" Pitch: "Semitone" throughout, interval of the "Fifth.")

ADAM, TO ORLANDO. — Shakespeare.

What! my young master!

-

O my gentle master!

O my sweet master! O you memory

Of old Sir Rowland! why, what make
you here?
Why are you virtuous? Why do people love you?
And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and valiant?
Your praise is come too swiftly home before you.
Oh, what a world is this, when what is comely
Envenoms him that bears it!

("Pure Tone:""Moderate" Force: "Median Stress: ""Middle" Pitch: interval of the "Third.")

"Semitone" throughout,

ORLANDO, TO ADAM. - Shakespeare.

O good old man, how well in thee appears
The constant service of the antique world,
When service sweat for duty, not for meed!
But, poor old man, thou prun'st a rotten tree,
That cannot so much as a blossom yield,
In lieu of all thy pains and husbandry!

2. Commiseration.

("Pure Tone: " "Impassioned" Force: "Vanishing Stress," and "Tremor:" Weeping Utterance: "Semitone Proper" throughout; and occasional "Chromatic Thirds" and "Fifths.")

CORDELIA, WATCHING OVER HER FATHER, AFTER HIS EXPOSURE TO Shakespeare.

THE TEMPEST.

O my dear father! Restoration, hang

Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made!

Had

you not been their father, these white flakes

Had challenged pity of them. Was this a face
To be exposed against the warring winds?
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder?
In the most terrible and nimble stroke

Of quick, cross lightning? to watch (poor perdu!)
With this thin helm? Mine enemy's dog,

Though he had bit me, should have stood that night
Against my fire; and wast thou fain, poor father,
To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn,
In short and musty straw? Alack, alack!
"T is wonder that thy life and wits, at once,
Had not concluded all!

3. Compassion.

"Pure Tone: ""Subdued " Force: "Median Stress:" "Middle " Pitch: "Semitone Proper," and "Chromatic Third," prevalent.)

BRUTUS, ON THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI, TO THE
BOY LUCIUS, HIS ATTENDANT. Shakespeare.

Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes a while,
And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
I trouble thee too much; but thou art willing.
I should not urge thy duty past thy might,
I know young bloods lack for a time of rest.
I will not hold thee long: if I do live,

I will be good to thee. [Lucius plays and sings.]
This is a sleepy tune: - O murderous Slumber!
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,

That plays thee music? Gentle knave, good-night!
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument:
I'll take it from thee; and, good boy, good-night!

4. Pity and Tenderness.

("Pure Tone: " "Subdued" Force: "Median" and "Vanishing Stress: " "High" Pitch: "Semitone Proper," and "Chromatic Fifth," throughout.)

MIRANDA, TO FERDINAND, WHEN HE IS UNDERGOING THE TASK OF CARRYING AND PILING LOGS, AT THE COMMAND OF HER FATHER. — Shakespeare.

Alas! now, pray you,

Work not so hard: I would the lightning had
Burned up those logs, that you are enjoined to pile!
Pray, set it down and rest you: when this burns,
"T will weep for having wearied you. My father
Is hard at study, - pray now, rest yourself:

He's safe for these three hours.

If you'll sit down,

I'll bear your logs the while: pray, give me that, –
I'll carry it to the pile!

5. Tenderness.

("Pure Tone: " "Subdued" Force: "Median Stress: " 66

"Semitone" through the first three lines.)

GRAY'S ELEGY.

High" Pitch:

On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eye requires ;
E'en from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires.

"Pure Tone: "

6. Condolence.

"Subdued" Force: "Gentle" "Vanishing Stress: " "Middle" Pitch: "Semitone," throughout, with occasional "Chromatic Third" and "Fifth.")

CROMWELL, TO WOLSEY ON HIS DOWNFALL.

O my lord,

Shakespeare.

Must I then leave you? must I needs forego
So good, so noble, and so true a master?

Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord.
The king shall have my service; but my prayers
Forever and forever shall be yours!

CHAPTER VIII.

"TIME."

THE chief characteristics of utterance, which are subjects of attention in vocal culture, are the "quality" of the voice, as sound, merely, and its "expression," as produced by "force," "stress," "melody" or "pitch," and "time," -properties equivalent to those which are comprehended in music under the heads of "quality," "dynamics (force), "melody," and "rhythm" (the effect of the union of "accent," or comparative force, and "time," on the sequence of sounds).

The subject of "time" is that which remains to be discussed, as the ground of practical exercises in elocution.

"QUANTITY."

The study of time, as a measure of speech, will lead to the primary classification of single vowel sounds, as long or short, in duration, according to their character and expression, as elements of language. The contrast, in the duration of the "tonic element," or vowel sound, a, in the words male and female, will furnish examples; the a in the former being much longer, or, in other words, occupying a much larger space of time, in utterance, than the a in the latter. The technical designation of this property of vocal sounds is "quantity," implying quantity of time, or duration. The a of male is accordingly termed a "long," the a in female, a "short quantity." Such is the usual distinction recognized in prosody and applied to versification.

Syllables, when regarded in connection with the "quantities" of their component elements, and classified for the purposes of elocution, have been arranged by Dr. Rush, under the following denominations:

1st. "Immutable," or such as are, from the nature of their constituent sounds, incapable of prolongation. These are immutably fixed to the shortest "quantity" exhibited in an elementary sound, and cannot, even when accented, and uttered in solemn or in poetic expression, be prolonged, in any degree, without positive mispronunciation or destruction of the peculiar accent of the language; as the i, for example, in the word sick, or in the verb convict. "Immutable syllables terminate with an abrupt, or "atonic" element, preceeded by a short "tonic," as in the above examples.

HOTSPUR, EXCLAIMING ON HIS FATHER'S ILLNESS, AND CONSEQUENT
ABSENCE FROM THE CAMP AT SHREWSBURY. — Shakespeare.
Sick now! droop now! This sickness doth infect
The very life-blood of our enterprise.

CATILINE, INDIGNANTLY DEFYING the Roman SENATE. — Croly. Tried and convicted traitor! Who says this? Who'll prove it, at his peril, on my head?

2d. "Mutable" syllables are such as are constituted like the preceding, but are capable of a slight degree of prolongation, according to the nature of the feeling they express. The monosyllable yet, or the accented syllable of the word beset, uttered in the tone of any vivid emotion, will furnish an example. An instance occurs in the scene of the combat between Fitz James and Roderic Dhu, when the latter makes the taunting exclamation, "Not yet prepared?" — and another in Blanche's dying warning, "The path's beset, by flood and fell!

3d. "Indefinite " syllables are those which contain, or terminate with, a "tonic " element, or with any "subtonic"