ページの画像
PDF
ePub

necessary for its production. Hence it may be easily understood how the voice will flatten when, from inattention or weariness, the singer does not give prompt and firm tension to the proper muscles of the larynx or chest. The loud singer is especially liable to this, because, as noticed above, his notes are made to depend less upon the easily-governed tension of the vocal chords, and more upon the regulated force of air from the chest-the muscles of which are less easily commanded with accuracy. Hence the importance of cultivating a medium force of voice, such as is consistent with the easy action of the lungs.

The VOICES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN are, on an average,

[blocks in formation]

The statement of the extreme compass of voices, and the remarks included between inverted commas, are either condensed or extracted from the "Art of Singing," by D. Crevelli, a work about eight notes higher than those of men. They are very which is "the result of study and experience for nearly thirty various in character, but may be conveniently classified accord-years" of a gentleman, who was spoken of by the Athenæum as ing to their " compass," or the extent of notes which they can "the most successful vocal teacher in England." reach on the standard scale.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

F,

E,

a. The First Soprano Voice has its extremest compass from E2 (above the staff) down to B, (below the staff). Its easy compass is from A down to c. "It is weak in the lower sounds, but light and brilliant (if well developed) in the higher ones above B. The organ has not much muscular strength, and cannot easily give effect to sustained sounds," but is very flexible.

b. The Second Soprano Voice reaches, in its
extreme compass, from c2 down to G,. Its
easy compass is from Fl down to A. "It is
generally full and round in its quality, and
flexible. The organ is of a stronger muscular
construction."

c. The Contra-Alto Voice sometimes reaches
from B flat down to E. Its easy compass
is from D to F1.
"Its organ is " large, and
"of a very strong muscular construction. It
is not very flexible. The upper sounds are
harsh or weak. It is, however, sometimes
full from D' down to G. It is most powerful
from G to G."

a. The Tenor Voice is of two sorts. "The
first is that very delicate, light, and rare
voice for which the 'alto' part is written in
some of our tune-books. Like the first soprano
voice, among females, it is not adapted to
sustained sounds. Its compass is about a
tone higher than that of the common tenor
voice."
The stronger tenor voice has for its
extreme compass from B flat down to B, flat
(in the bass cleff). Its easy compass is from
A down to C1. "It is full, round, and capable
of sustaining and expanding sounds with
firmness. Great care should be taken not to
force the higher sounds. They should be
sustained firmly though lightly, and without
making use of falsetto or head-voice-a quality
of voice dissonant and unpleasant, and which
ought never to exist in a well-cultivated
voice."

It should be noticed that boys' voices, especially for some time before they begin to break, are of a different timbre from those of girls-they are heavier and less flexible.

The term REGISTER is used to denote "a certain number of sounds in a voice, which differ in quality or timbre from another number of sounds in the same voice." We follow Dr. Bennati, as kindly quoted to us by Mr. Graham. "This change of register is probably occasioned by some difference in the manner in which the notes are produced. It may be that the lower notes are successively produced by somewhat relaxed membranes, which are shortened as the notes rise, and that notes of the higher register are produced mainly by the tension of the membranes without any shortening of the chords. If so, there will be a note or two, at the junction of the registers, which may be produced on either principle, and an uncultivated voice may not decide with sufficient promptitude which principle is to be used, or on which note the new register should begin. This would account for the great difficulty, which many have, in making the notes of one register follow smoothly with those of the other. Such persons require considerable practice and care to 'blend' the registers. They should be instructed to keep the notes of the lower register down in strength or force, while they seek to strengthen those of the higher one."

All the tones of the voice are really produced in the larynx,

The VOICES OF MEN are classified as fol- or "Adam's apple," but in producing the strong vibrating lower lows:tones of the voice, the singer feels as though his chest were called to a special effort. In producing other more weak and soft tones, he feels that the back part of the throat is exerting its muscles; and in producing certain clear, ringing tones, beyond the range of his ordinary voice, he is conscious of vibration in the head. Hence the names of the three registers-the chest register, the throat (sometimes called the medium, sometimes the falsetto) register, and the head (also sometimes called the falsetto) register. Each register has its peculiar quality of tone, and is produced by a peculiar management of the vocal organs. On this last point, recent discoveries have confirmed the conjectures of the Italian, Bennati. Müller shows that the throat register of tones is produced by the vibration of the thin borders only of the vocal membranes, while for the chest register those membranes vibrate in their whole breadth. For the head tones it is believed that the membranes fall down unused, and the larynx becomes an instrument of the flute kind. More recently still, the invention of the laryngoscope, and its skilful use by the younger Garcia, and others, have given us many details of the manner in which tones are produced. From these it appears that above a certain place in absolute pitch, the capabilities of tension in the material called flesh and muscle require that tones should be most easily produced in the manner above ascribed to the throat register, and below that pitch in the manner of the chest register. The place in pitch thus referred to lies between D below the treble staff, and G on its second line-a point only just reached by the basses, and very little exceeded by the baritones; having above it one-third of the tenor voice, half the contralto, two-thirds of the second soprano, and nearly all the first soprano.

b. The Baritone Voice has its extreme compass from G to F, sharp (below the bass cleff). Its easy compass is from F down to A "It partakes in some degree of the quality of both bass and tenor. It is more soft and flexible than the former. From the ease with which it takes the notes D E F (treble cleff), it may sometimes taken for the tenor. But from the different position of the organ in the throat, these sounds, instead of being full, will be of a hollow quality-being the extreme sounds of the baritone, whilst they are in the middle and fullest part of the tenor. If the voice is at all strained on this part, instead of gaining the soft and full baritone quality, it will become an imperfect mixture of the baritone and tenor."

e. The Bass Voice reaches its extreme sounds in E (on the lowest line of the treble cleff) and E, (below the bass cleff). Its easy compass is from D down to F. "It is naturally of a hard and inflexible quality, but very full and powerful in sustaining sounds." Those who understand the old notation will like to see the following diagram:

Many of the tones of the chest register could also be produced in the throat register, and vice versa. But the head register of tones never coincides-is never changeable-with the tones of the other registers. Where the throat tones cease, the head tones begin. The chest tones are naturally preferred by the lower voices (bass and contralto), and fill nearly the whole of the bass compass. They are less used by tenors and baritones, and still less by the first and second sopranos. The throat tones are preferred by the sopranos, and form the chief part of their

[ocr errors]

mass.

voices. The tenors and baritones use them in the higher parts of their voices. A baritone wishing to sing a tenor " part," must necessarily have recourse to his softer threat voice, else he will produce hard, wiry tones, very unpleasant when contrasted with the soft, round chest tones of the tenor voice. The same remark applies to second sopranos singing the air or soprano part." Conductors of choirs should be exceedingly careful in this matter, if they would secure a good blending of the vocal The head tones are exclusively used by the sopranos. In men -all authorities agree-these head tones are effeminate and disagreeable. Garcia says that the head register is not improved by much exercise. Nearly all men and some women speak in the chest voice. Nearly all women, including the contraltos, speak in the throat voice; and the cries of women and children are in the head voice. Teachers should be warned against allowing boys' voices to be forced upwards in the chest register. Garcia says that this often occasions the loss of voice in chorus children. At the change of voice in boys, their voices should have entire rest, often for a full year. Many voices, says Bassini, are "irretrievably ruined" by the neglect of this precaution. Bassini recommends the following test exercise to tenors, baritones, and contraltos, for the discovery of the throat register. The third tone, sung piano, is almost sure to be delivered with the throat voice. Then, having once found that register, it is easy to keep it in the descending phrase.

66

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors]

The voices of women and children are commonly called "treble voices." The highest female voice is often called simply "soprano," and the second voice is then called the mezzo soprano." The "part" adapted to the second soprano or contra-alto is sometimes called the "seconds," but that term is occasionally used in reference to the tenor. The "alto" is a very high man's voice, reaching very nearly to the lowest of women's voices, which is called, on that account, the contra-alto. But the two voices differ greatly in character-the one being Eight and flexible, the other not so.

Every pupil should mark the extent of his own voice on the scale above given at the side of the page.

The pupils need scarcely be warned against the common foolishness of boasting "how high they can sing." Let them remember that God has made their voices differently; that it is the honour of some to sing the lower parts for which their voices were made, as it is of others to sing the higher parts; and that the medium sounds of every voice are not only its easiest, but its very best.

Vocal music is commonly so written that several melodies may be sung together-each melody being adapted, in its compass, to one particular voice. The leading (or most striking) melody is almost invariably, and very properly, that which is sung by the highest voice. Each of these concurring melodies is called a "part;" the highest is commonly called the "air.” Those who sing in parts should seek to attune their voices one to the other, and to maintain the several parts with an equal volume of voice, so that one part may not overpower the others. Each singer should also take care to sing the part proper to his own voice.

We have music "in two parts," written for soprano and contra-alto voices, or for tenor and bass (like the exercises in this work), or for soprano and bass; music "in three parts," written "for three equal voices" (that is, for three female or three male voices), or for soprano, contra-alto, and baritone, or for soprano, tenor, and bass, etc.; music in four parts," for

soprano, contra-alto, tenor, and bass, etc. (like most psalm tunes); also music in five, six, and eight parts.

There is no harmony more perfect than the "concord of sweet voices." "All musicians knew," says General Thompson, "that by practising together, and, as it were, mutually rubbing down each other's asperities and defects, a quartett of performers on instruments of the viol kind arrived at a perfection of execution in point of harmony, or what is popularly called 'being in tune,' which nothing could excel, and no known thing, except a quartett of singers, equal. In short, there was no doubt that by following the directions of the ear as to what was most harmonious, and each labouring to accommodate the other with this common object in view, they did practically break in upon the thing so much sought for under the title of correct harmony. But nobody could tell what it was they did." The General then shows that the thing they did was-to sing or play notes which were mathematically correct according to the scale which the human ear requires-to free themselves from the temperament of keyed instruments-and to observe the double form of RAY which he calls its " duplicity." Let the singer make full use of the advantage he thus possesses.

The "balancing" of parts is important. For a congregation containing every kind of voice, music in four parts-soprano, contra-alto, tenor, and bass-is most appropriate. The second soprano and the baritone voices, in such music, would have to join with the parts above or below according to convenience. But in the Sabbath-school, where the immense preponderance of voice is that of females and children, to divide the voice of the male teachers into bass and tenor would make them out of all proportion weak. A far better distribution and more equal volume of voice is obtained by using music written in three parts-two for the voices of females and children, and one (of medium compass) for the united voices of the men. A similar proportion is desirable for boys' schools with a master, but the parts should be so written that the two upper melodies may be harmonious when the bass is absent. In girls' schools music in two parts is desirable. If, for Sabbath-schools, the two men's parts are retained, they should be very simple and "steady," sounding rather like an accompaniment than like "parts."

After these explanations, it is scarcely necessary to warn the pupil against the too common but absurd practice of females attempting to sing the tenor, or that of males sullying, with their tenor or baritone voices, the purity and brightness of the "air." If men are obliged to pitch the air of a tune, let them do so; but let them leave the females "to sing it, while they return to the part which is proper to their own voices."

In "leading a tune, it is advisable first to let all the school or congregation distinctly hear the key-note. If necessary, the first note or two (not more) may be sung by the leader in the "air." The leader should then take his own part. He will find himself able to keep up the pitch or the rate of movement much better by means of a firm bass or a clear tenor, both well accented, than by singing the air, however loudly or however angrily. When a "clerk' or "precentor" will sing the "air," it takes the spirit from the female voices; but if, perchance, for a line, he leaves them to themselves, they seem to rise with new vigour, sweetness, and brilliancy.

A good enunciation of words is most important to the singer. He cannot use that accent and inflection on each word which so much help us to distinguish the words of the speaker, however badly uttered. It is therefore the more necessary for the singer, if he would be "intelligible and edifying," to use an articulation strong, distinct, and correct. Care should be taken to make the vowel sounds most clear and accurate, and to deliver the consonants both quickly and forcibly.

[ocr errors]

For this purpose, the words should be read aloud by the teacher, so as to show the feeling and proper expression belong. ing to them, and to exhibit a "pattern" of good utterance. This the class should imitate, in one voice, taking the teacher's pattern line by line. The practice of reading together in a loud whisper will be found very conducive to the end sought.

It will sometimes be convenient to shorten a note when it falls on an ill-sounding syllable, and sometimes to throw the sound of a final consonant on to the following word.

If we were to pursue this important subject further, we should be tempted into a course of lessons on elocution, which would be beyond our province here.

(The Excroises attached to this Lesson will be given in our next.)

RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE DEER FAMILY.

A HISTORY of field sports would be as instructive as amusing.
It must inevitably develop both the evil and the good of human
nature, showing much courage and daring associated with no
little selfishness and cruelty. Hunting would, beyond doubt,
take up the greater portion of such a work, from the chase of
the lion or tiger to the rather inglorious pursuit of a hare. The
chapter devoted to the various field sports of the United King-
dom would first treat of the stag-hunt before condescending to
notice the bold fox-hunter or the skilful manager of harriers.
Our present object
is not, however, to
write a treatise on
hunting, but to give
some account of an
important family of
animals which have
in all ages been the
special objects of the
hunter's craft.

This being our third paper on the Rumirants, no special remarks on this order of mammalia are required. It may be sufficient to call attention to the fact that all the Cervida, or deer family, have solid horns, a marked distinction between

them and the ox, sheep, and antelopes. The deer alone, of all the Ruminants, shed their horns yearly, a physiological change of sufficient importance to give the animals a prominence in natural history.

Some brief descriptions of the more remarkable species are necessary before we examine into the growth and structure of the horns and other peculiar organs.

The species of the so-called Irish elk is now extinct, though some writers assert that individuals existed up to the middle of the sixteenth century. The bones of this gigantic deer are frequently found in the bogs of Ireland

up its head when running, so as to throw the heavy mass backwards over the neck. The great length of the legs, the height of the shoulders, the heavy, shambling trot, huge size of the animal, sometimes seven feet high, and the odd snapping sound of the joints, give to the motions of this deer a peculiar awkwardness. The moose spreads far over the northern regions of America, pushing its journeys, at some points, within the Arctic circle, and offering, in the depth of winter, a splendid prize to the Indian hunter. The elks of Norway and Sweden differ but little, if at all, from the moose; but they are rapidly diminishing in number before the rifles of enterprising sportsEven deer-stalking in the Scottish Highlands must yield

men.

THE RED DEER, OR TRUE STAG (Cervus Elaphus).

to stalking the elk in the grand solitudes of the Norwegian mountains.

It may be supposed that fable has left these deer alone. Not so: the men of old times were too fond of the marvellous for that. It was believed that the legs of the elk were without joints; that antlers grew from the eyelids; and that the animal was forced to walk backwards as it fed. The very pedigree of the creature was involved in mystery. It was said to be descended from the camel and the deer; thus being, in fact, a most wonderful mule. Such an animal could not be allowed to live a very happy life; it was therefore made subjeot to severe epileptic fits, which were constantly bringing its tall form to the ground. No wonder, then, that the old Germans named the animal 'Elend," or the wretched one! Amidst all these calamities, one comfort remained; the elk always had its medicine at hand. When prostrated by a fit, the patient had only to smell or lick its hoofs to ensure ย speedy recovery.

[graphic]
[ocr errors]

The Rein-deer cannot be entirely passed

and in the Isle of Man. A perfect skeleton is in the Museum | over by us, though it has been so often described that we shall of the Royal Dublin Society, and the spread of the vast antlers, no less than six feet, may give some notion of the magnificent power of this stag when living. Mr. Mantell possessed a pair of horns which extended "thirteen feet from tip to tip." Can the reader picture to himself a deer, six feet high and nine feet in length, carrying aloft such a forest of spreading antlers? The animal is improperly called an elk, the form of the horns proving it to be closely allied to our elegant fallow-deer.

The best living example of the true elks is the moose-deer (Alces Americanus) of North America. The noble horns of this species expand towards the summit in a manner somewhat resembling those of the fallow-deer, but without antlers at the base or in the middle of the stem. The great weight of these head-weapons, often about fifty pounds, compels the elk to hold

VOL. III.

be pardoned for not entering largely into minute details. We must also be excused for declining to discuss the much-disputed mode of spelling this deer's name, whether Rhen-deer, Raindeer, or Rein-deer, leaving that important matter to the taste of each reader. The various Indian and Esquimaux names are too many for enumeration, amounting to a dozen at least. It is also a question whether the rein-deer, or Caribou, of North America is not a different species from that of the Laplanders. The two are, probably, only varieties of the same species. No inference can be justly drawn from the diversities in the horns, for in no animals are these variations so numerous as among the rein-deer; indeed, it has been said that it is difficult to find two individuals with horns exactly alike. The American reindeer was probably called Caribou (Carré-boeuf) by the early

78

French settlers in Canada, from the resemblance which the massive body bears to that of the ox.

The size of the animal varies much; the Norwegian are the smallest, and those of Lapland are far inferior to the deer which frequent the polar regions of America and Asia. This quadruped is indeed well fitted to flourish in the lands of snow and tempests. The thick hair defends the body from the most piercing cold, while the hard end of the muzzle and the ironlike hoofs are admirably adapted for removing the frozen snow which covers the white lichens, the favourite food of the animal. These cryptogamous vegetables, which in England rank with the smallest forms of botanical life, and only serve to give a rich tinting to old walls and the trunks of ancient trees, grow luxuriantly on the mountains of Lapland, and cover the barren-ground regions of North America. Among them is the well-known, though wrongly named, Iceland moss, so frequently used by consumptive invalids in England. This is really a lichen, the Citraria Icelandica. The rein-deer sometimes perish from inability to obtain a supply of this food, and terrible then is the condition of the Esquimaux and Laplander. These famines occur when, instead of snow, an impenetrable pavement of thick ice covers the lichen districts, defying all the attempts of the deer to remove the fatal covering.

In the American regions where these animals abound, they form the chief support of the Indians and Esquimaux, who pitilessly and recklessly slaughter vast multitudes in autumn, when the fat herds are migrating from their summer homes. Many readers may know what pemmican is, others may never have even heard the word. It is simply deer's flesh cut small, packed tightly into a skin, and an abundance of melted fat poured into and over the whole, to keep the food from the air, and to give a due richness and flavour to the preserved meat.

These destructive huntings of the rein-deer only happen among the wild and wandering Indian tribes of America. The Laplander knows too well the value of the animals, and preserves the providers of his food and clothing with all care. With two or three hundred deer, and a well-situated lichen tract, he cares little for the rise and fall of the foreign food markets, and still less, if that be possible, for the rise and fall of kingdoms. He wants neither railways nor thorough-bred horses; his trained deer can bear him, if necessary, over the glistening snow-tracts at a rate equal to the speed of the swiftest horse. His daughters' marriage portions and the estates of his sons are to be found in his antlered flock. If he wants a winter coat, the rein-deer skin will defy a frost capable of freezing the mercury in the barometer. Is the Laplander an epicure, he has but to order a dish of deer's tongue, properly cooked by his wife or eldest daughter, when he will have a dinner which is both savoury and nutritious.

[ocr errors]

The horns are five or six feet long, flattened at the upper parts, and having antlers projecting from the base of each horn in front, and also antlers springing from the middle of the "beam or horn-shaft, and directed backwards. Thus the whole mass may be divided into four parts: the beam, the base or lower antlers, the middle antlers, and the wide-spreading palmated summit. We must not forget that the female of this species is horned.

The Musk-deer demands a few words, before proceeding to notice our native species. We admit that this animal can scarcely be ranked with the deer family; but as popular zoology places them here, and scientific naturalists are unable to class the Moschida (musk animals) satisfactorily, we shall here regard them as a peculiar species of hornless, but tusked, deer. The true musk animal is found in the high and bleak regions of Thibet; it is about three feet high, and of a pale yellow tint. The musk is a thick brownish fluid, contained in a fleshy bag about the size of a hen's egg, situated on the abdomen of the animal. The dried musk in each bag averages about one-third of an ounce, and is worth a sovereign in the market. As 5,000 are sometimes imported in a single year, this involves the destruction of 15,000 animals. The odour of the new musk is so powerful that the dealers are forced to cover their nostrils with thick cloths while inspecting the bags or "pods." This extraordinary perfume is said to retain all its energetic pungency after exposure to the air for a hundred years. It has proved a puzzle to the analytical chemists, who, after detecting ten elements in its composition, are unable to explain the nature of the perfume.

Let us now give a little attention to our native species, the Red Deer, the Roebuck, and the Fallow Deer of our parks. The Red Deer, or true stags (Cervus elaphus), are still wild in Scotland, where they give the stalker" many an opportunity for testing the strength of his muscles and the steadiness of his nerves. The horns of this species are conical, with antlers springing from the bottom and middle of the beam." They have none of those expanded surfaces which characterise the elks, rein-deer, and fallow-deer. Every part of these formidable weapons has its appropriate name: the main stem is the beam; the great branches springing from this are the antlers; the projections near the top are the branches; and those at the tip of the beam are called the sub-royal, or crown. The antlers themselves have distinct names: the first being called the brow antler, the second the bez-antler, and the third the royal. The bony ring at the bottom of the beam is known as the burr, of which we shall have something to say. The whole of this horn-system is not produced in the first, second, or even third year of the red deer's life. In the first year the horns are but small bumps on the head; in the second they assume a pointed shape, and are then called dags; the third year developes the brow antler; in the next the bez-antler is produced; and the fifth year sees the royal antler bnd forth, and then the animal becomes a stag. But the horns are not perfect until the sixth and following years form the successive branches of the crown. The number of antlers increases with the age of the stag; ten or twelve is, in general, the extreme, but some heads have borne horns of thirty antlers.

These stags, in the wild state, are almost extinct in the south of England; for those turned out to be hunted by the Royal hounds at Windsor are really half-domesticated. A hundred years ago they were numerous in the southern forests; but these were only the relics of the stately herds for which William I. made the New Forest, and for whose protection the ferocious forest laws were enacted. For them, chiefly, nearly seventy forests, and about seven hundred royal parks, were jealously kept, until the irritated baronage, gentry, and commoners of England insisted upon having their share also in the hunting of the deer. This animal must, indeed, have a place

in the national records, if only for his former importance. Parliament no longer passes acts for his protection; rebellions are not organised under colour of a stag-hunt; noblemen have ceased to glory in the privilege of killing a deer on their way to and from Parliament. But we cannot even yet forget that Chevy Chase was fought in the stag's honour, and that the "stark" William of Normandy "loved the red deer as if he had been their father."

[ocr errors]

The Roebuck (Cervus capreolus), the smallest of our native deer, has but two antlers on the short horns, lives in small herds of five or six, frequents mountain districts, and must now be sought in Scotland, where their watchfulness will tax all the hunter's skill.

The Fallow Deer (Cervus dama) is the best known English species, being that usually kept in parks, where their beauty and gentleness are in harmony with the quietude of sylvan scenery. The horns have two antlers directed forwards; but the upper parts expand into what is called the "palmated" form, which is not fully developed till the animal is six years old.

The spotted variety is said to have been brought from the South of Europe or North Africa; but the brown kind were introduced by James I. from Denmark. The name fallow descriptive of the light reddish-brown colour of the most ancient variety, and is derived from a Saxon word signifying a light red.

[ocr errors]

A few words on the growth and shedding of the horns are now requisite, as the production of such masses of bony matter every year must have a great influence on the vital functions of the animal. The new horn is at first but a soft and highlysensitive knob, protected by a fine skin covered with hair. called the "velvet." If the knob" be gently touched with the finger, it will be found to possess all the heat of inflammatory action. As the horn grows, the skin or "velvet" dries up, and is gradually rubbed off by friction against trees. The whole system of blood-vessels, which nourished the tendergrowing horn, cease to act, and, finally, leave nothing but the faint marks of their presence on the solid horn. The burr, or bony ring at the base of the horn, has been the last formed, and we must now consider the influence of this on the shedding

of the horns. The continued pressure of the burr on the blood-
ressels tends to obliterate these, and therefore to stop the flow
of blood to the antlers. In time this failure of nourishment
leads to the weakening of the horns at the frontal joint, and
ultimately to their falling off. A few blood-vessels are even
then torn asunder, as the part where the horn separates from
the skull generally bleeds for a short time.
The lachrymal sinus (tear-channel) is an opening under cach
eye in most species of deer, the use of which is yet unknown.
They are not "
tear-channels," notwithstanding the name; nor
are they "breathing places," as Gilbert White supposed, for
Hunter has shown they have no connection with the nostrils or
lungs. These organs are, therefore, at present a mystery.
Those of our readers who wish to know something of the
numerous deer parks still kept up in England, and the modes
of managing the animals in such enclosures, will do well to
read Mr. Shirley's book on the deer parks of England.

The necessary limits of this paper have prevented us from referring to several foreign species, from entering into the details of "hunting science," and from describing the various modes in which the horns and skin of the deer are made useful" to men.

[ocr errors]

If deer have had little direct influence on human civilisation, they, nevertheless, have contributed in all ages to the support of numerous rude tribes, and have offered, in feudal times, the temptations of the chase as a more innocent amusement than the battle-field. Does the man of the nineteenth century ask which is better, the hunting-field or the music-hall? An Englishman has but one answer.

LESSONS IN LATIN.-XXXV. DEVIATIONS IN THE FIRST CONJUGATION. 2. Perfect, -UI; Supine, ITUM.

i. Crepo, crepui, crepare, crepitum, 1, to croak.

ii. Cubo, cubui, cubare, cubitum, 1, to lie down.

iii. Domo, domui, domare, domitum, 1, to tame, subdue.

[blocks in formation]

1. Quis venit? 2. Fores crepuerunt. 3. Dux milites vehementer increpuit. 4. Tota urbs vocibus civium de victorià ex hostibus reportatâ exsultantium percrepuit. 5. Age, cubitum discedamus. 6. Romani multas gentes ac nationes armis perdomuerunt. 7. Docemur auctoritate nutuque legum, domitas habere libidines, coercere omues cupiditates. 8. Ex hoc fonte ingentes scaturigines aquæ emicuerunt. 9. Indorum sapientes ad flammam se applicant. 10. Indorum sapientes applicaverunt, sine gemitu aduruntur. sine gemitu aduruntur. 11. Indorum sapientes, quum ad flammam se 12. Cicero ad Molonem philo sophum se applicavit. 13. Sapiens studet animi sui complicatamı notionem evolvere. 14. Quum memoriam temporum replicaveris, et virtutum et vitiorum multa exempla reperies. 15. Quum urbs expugnata esset, omnia passim mulierum puerorumque ploratibus sonuerunt. 16. Terremur quum serena tempestate (weather) tonuit. 17. Nitimur in vetitum. 18. Augustus carmina Virgilii cremari vetuit. 19. Augustus carmina Virgilii cremari contra testamenti ejus verecundiam vetuit. EXERCISE 130.-ENGLISH-LATIN.

1. The hinges of the door creaked. 2. The mother scolded her innocent son. 3. The soldiers kept watch all night. 4. The sailors will subdue the enemy's fleet. 5. I shall apply myself to Cicero (study

under him). 6. I forbid you to study under Aristotle. 7. We shall strive for what is forbidden (vetitum). 8. The whole house sounded with the groaning of the sick men. 9. The city sounds with arms. 10. Jupiter subdues the other gods by his nod. 11. Everywhere groan

iv. Mico, micui, micare (no supine), to glitter; so emico, ings and weepings sound. 12. I have thoroughly tamed the lion. emicni, emicare, emicatum, to dart forth; but dimico, I fight, has dimicavi, dimicare, dimicatum.

v. Plico, plicui, plicare, plicatum, and plicitum, to fold; implico has implicui, implicatus (Cicero), and implicitus; explico and applico, in Cicero, have always -avi, -atum; replico, also, is regular.

vi. Sono, sonui, sonare, sonitum, to sound; part. fut. sonaturus.

vii. Tono, tonui, tonare (no supine), to thunder. viii. Veto, vetui, vetare, vetitum, to forbid.

Let me impress on the student the necessity of committing these forms to memory. Only by committing them to memory -only by retaining them in your memory-can you become thoroughly master of them, and so have them in your possession for all necessary purposes. Be not deluded by any representations which may aim to make you think that you can become familiar with the Latin or any other language, unless at the expense of very considerable and very close labour. Again and again, twice or thrice over, must you acquire and repeat to yourself or to a friend all the forms I give; nor be satisfied that they are yours until, by repeated examinations and trials, you learn that you have them in your mind. You will act wisely to call in to your aid the principle of mutual stimulus and mutual instruction. Go over these forms aloud, several persons reciting them at once. For this purpose, it would be well to have a leader or drill-sergeant, to give the word, and keep the recital correct. When you have repeated a form or a Vocabulary sufficiently, then proceed to examine each other. You would do well to call into play the same impulse and aid in writing and correcting the examples and exercises. If you are unable to get several to join you in the task, undertake to teach Latin to some poor boy who cannot afford to purchase the POPULAR EDUCATOR, or who may be neglected by his proper guardians. If two persons, with equal time and equal talents, began together to study Latin, the one teaching another, the other confining all his attention to himself, the former would outstrip the latter very easily, and make such progress as in a few months to defy competition. Docendo disce.

DEVIATIONS IN THE FIRST CONJUGATION.

3. Perfect -UI; Supine, -TUM.

i. Frico, fricui, fricare, fricatum, to rub; refrico, refricui, refricare, refrictum, to rub up, revive (p. f. refricaturus). ii. Neco, necui, necare, necatum, to kill; eněco, enecui, enecare, enectum, to torture in killing.

iii. Seco, secui, secare, sectum, to cut, flog (p. f. secaturus). 4. Perfect, -1; Supine, -TUM.

i. Juvo, juvi, juvare, jutum (juvaturus), to help; adjŭvo, adjūvi, adjuvare, adjutum, adjuturus. ii. Lavo, lāvi, lavare, lautum, to wash.

Adjuvare (acc.), to sup-|

port, assist.
Alligare, 1, to bind to,

or on.

Attingo, attingere, at-
tīgi, attactum, 3, to
touch.

Coeno, 1, to sup, dine.
Congero, 3, I carry.
Desecare, to cut down.
Desiderium, -i, n., sense
of loss, regret for.

VOCABULARY.
Frustra, in vain (E. R.
frustrate).
Garrio, 4, Í chatter.
Garrulitas, -átis, talk-
ativeness.

petitum, 3, to ask, seek, fetch. Principio, at the first. Principium, i, n., a beginning.

Garrulus, -a, -um, chat- Quantopere, how much.

tering.

Horreum, -i, n., a barn.
Oleum, -i, n., oil.
Perfricare, to rub
greatly.

Refricare, to rub back, rub again.

Reporto, 1, I bring back,

gain.

Resecare, to cut off. Peto, petere, petivi, Solutus, -a, -um, free. EXERCISE 131.-LATIN-ENGLISH.

1. Vereor ne literis meis refricuerim desiderium ac dolorem tuum. 2. Tuis sceleribus reipublicæ præterita fata refricaturus es. 3. Dubium non est quin tuis sceleribus reipublicæ præterita fata refricaturus sis. 4. Tantalus summam aquam attingens, enectus siti fingitur a poetis. 5. Nescisne quantopere garrulus iste homo me garriendo enecuerit? 6. Caius Marius, quum secaretur, principio vetuit se alligari, nec quisquam ante Marium solutus dicitur esse sectus. 7. Agricole frumenta desecta in horrea congerunt. 8. Nisi libidines resecueris, frustra studebis beate vivere. 9. Quis nescit quantopere Cicero patriam juverit? 10. Non solum fortuna, sed etiam industria tua te in negotio bitamus quin splendidam de hostibus reportaturi simus victoriam. tuo adjuvit. 11. Si quid fortuna milites nostros adjuverit, non duExercitus maximis itineribus profectus est cives obsidione cinctos adjutum. 13. Ne prius cœna quam manus laveris. 14. Corpus lauturus aquam puram e vivo (running) flumine pete!

12.

« 前へ次へ »