to their fullest extent. By the reverse movement the air is forced out with the least expenditure of effort. After a long address, public speakers sometimes complain of feeling tired in the abdominal region rather than in the vocal organs. If so, it is only proof that they have worked the bellows properly up to the limit of actual weariness, and the utility of this mode of breathing is evidenced by the fact that, while the abdominal muscles feel the strain of continued effort, the vocal organs themselves are unwearied. When the phenomena of respiration are all considered, abdominal breathing will recommend itself to the judgment of the student, as being the method designed by the Creator for habitual

use.

The Full

Breath.

The relation and functions of the three modes of respiration described above may be seen by taking a full breath. Let the student stand in the military position, place the arms akimbo, throw back the head, and inhale the air to the fullest capacity of his lungs. If the inhalation is made slowly and each step in the process is accurately observed, the following facts will be noted: The front wall of the abdomen protrudes, the sides move outward, and finally a conscious effort is made to lift the shoulders and make room for a little more air at the top of the chest. In other words, the lungs are inflated from the bottom upwards, and in exhaling the full breath the various movements described are reversed in regular order.

These facts led Lennox Browne and Emil Behnke, in their excellent treatise on Voice, Song, and Speech

Rule for

(New York, Putnams), to lay down the following rule: The criterion of correct inspiration is an increase of the size of the abdomen and Breathing. of the lower part of the chest; whoever draws in the abdomen and raises the upper part of the chest breathes wrongly."

Breathing
Exercises.

Breathing exercises are of great value, most easily practised, and give excellent results. It is not necessary to have an elaborate system. As I have stated, the nostrils are the proper organs of breathing. Every breath of pure air a man inhales through his nostrils is a breath of life.

One exercise, repeated fifty or a hundred times a day, requiring no more than ten minutes altogether, is of the greatest advantage. It consists in inhaling through the nostrils a deep breath, retaining it a few seconds, and then, with the lips adjusted as if one intended to whistle, expelling it slowly through the contracted orifice. If students would rise from their studies, bookkeepers from their desks, women from their sewing or reading, two or three times a day, and take from fifteen to thirty such breaths of as pure air as possible, the result upon their health would be beneficial.

For purposes of general instruction and for daily practice, the following breathing exercises are appended.

Stand erect with one foot about three inches in advance of the other, and the heels forming an angle of forty-five degrees. Let the weight rest principally upon the rear foot, changing the position of the feet with each full breath. Place the

Deep Breathing.

hands upon the sides, with the fingers resting upon the abdominal muscles in front and the thumbs upon the muscles of the back. Extend the chest and inhale very slowly through the nose, filling the lungs completely. Exhale in the same manner, and repeat twelve times, being careful to stop the moment any signs of fatigue or dizziness appear. This exercise will tend to correct any false habit of respiration which may have been formed.

Closely related to the foregoing is an exercise intended to economize breath in vocal utterance. Take the same position as before, and Effusive inhale in exactly the same manner. Place Breathing. the organs of vocalization in position to say H and exhale the breath in a prolonged H-H-H-H. Repeat several times, endeavoring to extend the period of expiration. The H-sound should be scarcely audible, and a flame placed before the mouth should flare only in the slightest degree as the air passes through the lips directly upon it.

Inhale as in the exercises above. Exhale with the whispered aspirate more audible, and in separate expulsions. In practice try to increase. Expulsive the number of expulsions. This exer- Breathing. cise, besides increasing control over the respiratory organs, will be found of value in the production of several forms of speech, notably the effusive mode of delivery.

Fill the lungs a little more rapidly, and stand firmly as if for sustained effort. Exhale in a sudden expulsion of the breath the whispered H. It will

Explosive

assume the character of the sound heard in the puff of the locomotive, and a full inflation Breathing. of the lungs should be sufficient for two marked expulsions.

In connection with these breathing exercises certain muscular movements will be found beneficial. They may be interspersed among the breathings, and will serve as a relief and diversion.

Stand in the military position, firm and erect. Place the open hands upon the ribs as high up and Kneading the as far back as possible. While in this Side Muscles. position, move the elbows back and forth and slide the palms upward and downward over the ribs; at the same time gently swinging the head back and forth and from side to side.

Assume the same position as in the preceding exercise. Inhale slowly through the lips placed to sound the letter F, and exhale in the prolonged sound Holding the of H. Having taken a full, deep breath, Breath. retain the air in the lungs for about ten seconds, resisting every impulse to expel it. The purpose of this exercise is to acquire control over the vocal organs. The exercise, when carefully performed, is extremely beneficial. It will expand the air-cells of the lungs and strengthen them in every part. The time of holding the breath should at first be limited to five seconds. After practice the time of retention may be materially lengthened. exercise should never be used immediately before or after meals. Two or three retentions performed in the middle of the forenoon and of the afternoon will be quite enough for practical purposes.

This

Importance of the Subject-Bell's Vowel Table-Principles of Pronunciation-Articulation by Means of the Tongue, Lips, Teeth, and Nose-Guilmette's Vocal Chart-Exercises in Articulation -Flexibility and Control of the Voice.

AVING now considered the structure and uses

HAVING

Introductory.

of the vocal organs, the next subject to claim attention is their application in producing speech. Language or words consist of elementary sounds united and blended into complex forms. These are open sounds or vowels, and closed sounds or consonants. To the eye they are represented by letters, and to the ear by tones. When sounded separately, they are produced by a single impulse of the voice, but in combination the effort is complex, and in either case is called pronunciation. Clearly and effectively done, the vocal act is designated as correct articulation, and when many words are spoken successively, with due regard to their emphasis and inflection, the speaker is said to have flexibility of utterance.