Occasion may be taken in the course of the scene, to change sides. One speaker, at the end of an impassioned speech, may cross over to the place of the other, while the latter, at the same moment, crosses over to the place of the former. This, however, must be done with great care, and so as to keep the back from being turned to the audience. But if this transition be performed adroitly, it will have a very good effect, in varying the position of the speakers, and giving each an opportunity of using his right hand-the most favorable to grace and expression-And, if, from so humble a scene as the school, we may be permitted to raise our observations to the senate, it might be hinted, that gentlemen on each side of the house, while addressing the chair, oan, with grace and propriety, only make use of one hand; namely, that which is next to the speaker; and it may be observed in passing, that to all the other advantages of speaking which are supposed to belong to one side of the house-may be added-the graceful use of the right hand. The better to conceive the position of two speakers in a scene, a Plate is given, representing their respective attitudes: And it must be carefully noted, that, when they are not speaking, the arms must hang in their natural place, by the sides: Unless what is spoken, by one, is of such importance, as to excite agitation and surprise, in the other. But if we should be sparing of gesture at all times, we should be more particularly so, when we are not speaking. From what has been laid down, it will evidently appear,' how much more difficult and complicated is the action of a scene, than that of a single speech; and, in teaching both to children, how necessary it is, to adopt as simple and easy a method as possible. The easiest method of conveying instruction. in this point, will be sufficiently difficult; and therefore, the avoiding of awkwardness and impropriety, should be more the object of instruction, than the conveying of beauties. There are, indeed, some masters, who are against teaching boys any action at all, and are for leaving them in this point entirely to nature. It is happy, however. that they do not leave that action to nature, which is acquired by dancing; the deportment of their pupils, would soon convince them they were imposed on by the sound of words, Improved and beautiful nature is the object of the painter's pencil, the poet's pen, and the rhetorician's action, and not that sordid and common nature, which is perfectly rude and uncultivated. Nature directs us to art, and art selects and polishes the beauties of nature: It is not sufficient for an orator, says Quintilian, that he is a man: He must be an improved and cultivated man; he must be a man, favored by nature and fashioned by art. But the necessity of adopting some method of teaching action, is too evident to need proof. Boys will infallibly contract some action; to require them to stand stock still while they are speaking an impassioned speech is not only exacting a very difficult task from them, but is in a great measure checking their natural exertions. If the are left to themselves, they will, in all probability, fall into very wild and ungraceful action, which, when once formed into habit, can scarcely ever be corrected : Giving them therefore, a general outline of good action, must be of the utmost consequence to their progress and improvement in pronunciation. The great use, therefore, of a system of action like the present, is, that a boy will never be embarrassed, for want of knowing what to do with his legs and arms; nor will he bestow that attention on his action, which ought to be directed to its pronunciation: He will always be in a position which will not disgrace his figure, and when this gesture is easy to him, it may serve as a groundwork to something more perfect: He may either by his own genius or his master's instructions, build some other action upon it, which may, in time, give it additional force and variety. Thus, what seemed either unworthy the attention, or too -difficult for the execution of others, the author of the present publication has ventured to attempt. A conviction of the necessity of teaching some system of action, and the abundant success of the present system, in one of the most respectable academies near Loudon, has determined him. to publish it. for the use of such seminaries as make English pronunciation a part of their discipline. It may not be useless to observe, that boys should be clas sed in this, as in every other kind of instruction, according to their abilities; that a class should not consist of more than ten; that about eight or ten lines of some speech should be read first by the teachers, then by the boy who reads best, and then by the rest in order, all having a book of the same kind, and all reading the same portion. This portion they must be ordered to get by heart against the next lesson; and then the first boy must speak it, standing some distance before the rest. in the manner directed in the Plates; the second boy must succeed him, and so on till they have all spoken. After which another portion must be read with them, which they must read and speak in the same manner as before. When they have gone through a speech in this manner by portions, the two or three first boys may be ordered, against the next lesson, to speak the whole speech; the next lesson, two or three more, and so on to the rest. This will excite emulation, and give the teacher an opportunity of ranking them according to their merit. SECTION III. Rules for expressing, with propriety, the principal Passions and Humors, which occur in Reading, or public Speaking, E VERY part of the human frame contributes to express the passions and emotions of the mind, and to shew in general its present state. The head is sometimes erectel, sometimes hung down, sometimes drawn suddenly back with an air of disdain, sometimes shews by a nod a particular person or object; gives assent, or denial, by different motions; threatens by one sort of movement, approves by another, and expresses suspicion by a third. The arms are sometimes both thrown out, sometimes the right alone. Sometimes they are lifted up as high as the face, to express wonder; sometimes held out before the breast, to shew fear; spread forth with the hands open, to express desire or affection; the hands elapped in surprise, and in sudden joy and grief; the right hand clenched, and the arms brandished, to threaten; the two arms set akimbo, to look big, and express contempt or courage. With the hands, we solicit, we refuse, we promise, we threaten, we dismiss, we invite, we intreat, we express aversion, fear, doubting, denial, asking. affirmation, negation, joy, grief, confession, penitence. With the hands we describe, and point out all circumstances of time, place, and manner of what we relate; we excite the passions of others, and sooth them, we approve and disapprove, permit, or prohibit, admire, or despise. The hands serve us instead of many sorts of words and where the language of the tongue is unknown, that of the hands is understood, being universal, and common to all nations. The legs advance, or retreat, to express desire, or aversion, love or hatred, courage or fear, and produce exultation, or leaping in sudden joy; and the stamping of the foot expresses earnestness, anger and threatening Especially the face being furnished with a variety of muscles, does more in expressing the passions of the mind than the whole human frame besides. The change of colour (in white people) shews by turns, anger by redness, and sometimes by paleness, fear likewise by paleness, and shame by blushing. Every feature contributes its part. The mouth open shews one state of mind, shut, another; the gnashing of the teeth, another. The forehead smooth, eyebrows arebed and easy, shew tranquillity or joy. Mirth opens the mouth toward the ears, crisps the nose, half shuts the eyes, and sometimes fills them with tears The front wrinkled into frowns, and the eyebrows overhanging the eyes, like clouds, fraught with tempest, shew a mind agitated with fury. Above all, the eye shews the very spirit in a visible form. In every different state of the mind, it assumes a different appearance. Joy brightens and opens it. Grief half closes, and drowns if in tears. Hatred and anger, flash from it like lightning. Love darts from it in glances, like the orient beam. Jealousy and squinting envy, dart their contagious blasts from the eye. And devotion raises it to the skies, as if the soul of the hoJy man were going to take its flight to heaven. The force of attitude and looks alone appears in a wondrously striking manner, in the works of the painter and statuary; who have the delicate art of making the flat canvass and rocky marble utter every passion of the ha man mind, and touch the soul of the spectator, as if the picture, or statue, spoke the pathetic language of Shakespeare. It is no wonder then, that masterly action. joined with powerful elocution, should be irresistable. And the variety of expression, by looks and gestures. is so great, that, as is well known, a whole play can be represented, without a word spoken. |