Then he tore apart the tunic on his breast, laid bare the scars left by wounds received in the Armenian war, and stretched out his hands to the multitude. At this the enthusiasm passed everything ever seen in a circus before. Voices choking with tears began to demand mercy. Yet Nero halted and hesitated. He would have preferred to see the giant and the maiden rent by the horns of the bull. Nero was alarmed. He understood that to oppose longer was simply dangerous. A disturbance begun in the circus might seize the whole city. He looked once more, and, seeing everywhere frowning brows, excited faces and eyes fixed on him, he slowly raised his hand and gave the sign for mercy. Then a thunder of applause broke from the highest seats to the lowest. But Vinicius heard it not. He dropped on his knees in the arena, stretched his hands toward heaven and cried: 66 I believe ! Oh, Christ! I believe! I believe ! " CHAPTER III FORCE Force is the power or energy of utterance. It relates to the manner, the amount, and the location of energy with which sounds are sent forth from the vocal organs. It must not be confused with loudness. Figuratively speaking Force is the exploding powder behind the ball, while loudness is the momentum or carrying power of the projectile. For example, we may give strong Force with Aspirate Quality and not be heard very far, while a moderate degree of Force with a pure Normal Quality would fill a large auditorium. Loudness is force plus vibration. Force has three specific divisions, (1) Form, (2) Degree, and (3) Stress, which correspond respectively to the Emotive, Vital, and Mental natures, thus: SECTION I. FORM Form is the manner of exerting Force, and relates to the smoothness or abruptness with which a sound, word, or syllable is begun and ended. The manner reveals the motive, hence Form represents the Emotive nature. There are three Forms in nature, —(1) the Effusive, (2) the Expulsive, and (3) the Explosive, which correspond to man's triune nature, thus: The Effusive is that Form of voice in which the Force is applied smoothly and evenly, so that the sound flows forth from the vocal organs without abruptness either in the opening or the closing. It is heard in nature in the moaning of the wind, the roar of the cataract, the plaintive notes of the dove, the mournful howl of a dog, the moan of a child, the sigh of pathos, or the groan of sorrow. It represents the Emotive nature of man, and is used to express his more serious or solemn states of mind, such as pathos, sorrow, reverence, suppressed fear, awe, etc. The Effusive may be given in notes of song on a level line of pitch, or inflected in notes of speech which slide up and down the scale, as shown by the accompanying cuts. To acquire it the student should practice on the continuant sounds and indefinite syllables in notes of song and notes of speech. Effusive Form, Notes of Song Effusive Form, Notes of Speech Illustrative Selection. NOTE. The Effusive Form and Long Quantity are closely associated. The student will do well to underscore the words embodying the sentiment of the selection, and give Effusive Form in Long Quantity on the indefinite and mutable syllables composing those words, remembering always that the other words should be given in the ordinary Expulsive Form. MY SHIPS ELLA WHEELER WILCOX If all the ships I have at sea- If half my ships now out at sea As any king that sits in state, So rich the treasure there would be In half my ships now out at sea. If but one ship I have at sea Should come a-sailing home to me, Ah well! the storm clouds then might frown, For if the others all went down, Still rich and glad and proud I'd be, If that one ship came home to me. If that one ship went down at sea, And all the others came to me, Weighed down with gems and wealth untold, The poorest soul on earth I'd be, If that one ship came not to me. Oh, skies, be calm! oh, winds, blow free! Blow all my ships safe home to me! 2. Expulsive Form. The Expulsive is that Form in which the Force is applied abruptly, so that the sound rushes forth from the vocal organs as in ordinary speech. It is heard in nature in the babbling brook, the chatter of birds, the prattle of children, and in the common conversation of all peoples in all languages. It represents the Mental nature of man, and is used to express his ordinary thoughts, as in conversation, narration, didactic thought, gladness and patriotism. To acquire a good Expulsive Form the student should practice the vowel sounds in notes of song and notes of speech, as indicated by the following figures, and read aloud with clear and distinct articulation the following illustrative selection. Expulsive Form, Notes of Song Expulsive Form, Notes of Speech Illustrative Selection. NOTE. The Expulsive corresponds to the Medium Quantity which should be given on all words not demanding a prolongation even though they are composed of continuant sounds. In other words, a syllable should not be unduly prolonged when no special significance is implied. It is very important to be able to read in a natural, colloquial manner. The following selection read aloud in such a manner will prove a good exercise for Expulsive Form. CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 1 DANIEL WEBSTER America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind. Washington! "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen!" Washington is all our own! The enthusiastic veneration and regard in which the people of the United States 1 From the Second Bunker Hill Oration, delivered June 17, 1843. hold him, prove them to be worthy of such a countryman; while his reputation abroad reflects the highest honor on his country. I would cheerfully put the question to-day to the intelligence of Europe and the world, What character of the century, upon the whole, stands out in the relief of history, most pure, most respectable, most sublime; and I doubt not, that, by a suffrage approaching to unanimity, the answer would be, Washington! The structure now standing before us, by its uprightness, its solidity, its durability, is no unfit emblem of his character. His public virtues and public principles were as firm as the earth on which it stands; his personal motives, as pure as the serene heaven in which its summit is lost. But, indeed, though a fit, it is an inadequate emblem. Towering high above the column which our hands have builded, beheld not by the inhabitants of a single city or a single state, but by all the families of man, ascends the colossal grandeur of the character and life of Washington. In all the constituents of the one, in all the acts of the other, in all its titles to immortal love, admiration, and renown, it is an American production. It is the embodiment and vindication of our transatlantic liberty. Born upon our soil, of parents also born upon it; never for a moment having had sight of the Old World; instructed, according to the modes of his time, only in the spare, plain, but wholesome elementary knowledge which our institutions provide for the children of the people; growing up beneath and penetrated by the genuine influences of American society; living from infancy to manhood and age amidst our expanding but not luxurious civilization; partaking in our great destiny of labor, our long contest with unreclaimed nature and uncivilized man, our agony of glory, the war of Independence, our great victory of peace, the formation of the Union, and the establishment of the Constitution, he is all, all our own! Washington is ours. I claim him for America. In all the perils, in every darkened moment of the state, in the midst of the reproaches of enemies and the misgivings of friends, I turn to that transcendent name for courage and for consolation. To him who denies or doubts whether our fervid liberty can be combined with law, with order, with the security of property, with the pursuits and advancement |
