Gitche Manitou, the Mighty!

Give thy children food, O Father!
Give us food, or we must perish!
Give us food for Minnehaha,

For my dying Minnehaha!

REFLEX HAND

Also belonging more especially to dramatic work than to oratory is the reflex hand. This is simply the ordi

nary hand with the palm up, brought back to and touching self. It may return to any part of the body, and its significance differs with the part of the body to which it

returns.

For the purpose of explaining this gesture, it may be said that the head represents man's mental nature, and that the chest represents his emotional nature. The chest is further divided into the upper and lower chest.

The upper chest is the seat of honor, conscience, selfrespect, patriotism, etc.

The lower chest is the seat of the affections and deeper

emotions.

With these statements in mind, we can see that the hand reflex to the head would denote concentration or reflection (see Fig. 64), and that when brought to the chest it would have different meanings according to the zone to which it was brought.

In case of pain, the reflex hand may seek almost any part of the body. When the fingers are bent, and the thumb crooked, it may denote agony, convulsion, despair, etc. (See Fig. 66.) Examples:

Mercutio.

Iago.

I am hurt:

A plague o' both your houses! I am sped.
Is he gone, and hath nothing?. SHAKESPEARE.
He holds me well;

The better shall my purpose work on him.
Cassio's a proper man: let me see now;
To get his place, and to plume up my will
In double knavery - How, how? Let's see.

SHAKESPEARE.

Juliet. O, break, my heart! poor bankrupt, break at once!

77. To a count of 1, 2, 3, execute the averse hand to the right five times and to the left five times. Be sure to strike on 3, and at the same time to turn the head away. Try the same obliquely upward and obliquely downward, both on the right and left.

78. Execute Ex. 77 with both hands.

79. Execute Ex. 78 with the clasped hands, also using the clasped hands in front upward, and in front downward. On the downward positions of the clasped hands you may still look upward.

80. Review the Open Hand, with palm both up and down, the Index, and the Clenched Hand, using each in all planes.

81. Review the Reflex, Averse, and Clasped hands, using in all planes.

82. Review all the positions.

83. The following exercise from Fulton and Trueblood's Practical Elocution will be found very helpful in developing graceful action and poise. Practice it often before the mirror, as gracefully as you can.

"Let the hands meet a few inches in front of the left hip, gently grasp with each thumb and finger an imaginary silken fiber; then keeping the hands turned toward each other throughout the movement, gradually separate the arms, the left moving downward and backward, the right upward and forward, spinning out the thread. Open the hands at the end of the movement. During this movement step forward with the right foot, balancing the body with the left. Stepping with the left foot, practice with the hands on the other side in a similar manner. Repeat alternately twice." (See Figs. 67 and 68.)

LESSON XXXIV

QUANTITY

It is easy to see that the word kick does not occupy so much time in speaking as the word gloom, yet the speaker often does not make use of this fact. All the words of his speech are uttered with about the same length, so that differences which could be made very effective are entirely neglected.

This division of Public Speaking which deals with the length of vocal sounds and syllables is called quantity. Quantity is based primarily upon the actual time that it

takes to utter the different sounds of the alphabet. Some are long and some are short. Short sounds cannot be prolonged without becoming displeasing to the ear. Long sounds can be prolonged and yet not become displeasing.

With this knowledge of the sounds themselves, we may now understand how we have syllables which are made up entirely of short sounds, called short syllables, syllables made up of part short and part long sounds, called medium syllables, and syllables made up wholly of long sounds, called long syllables.

Examples of short syllables are:

kick, tat, pat, tack, dot, etc.

Examples of medium syllables are:

come, pull, rap, met, etc.

Examples of long syllables are:

eve, arm, rove, gloom, etc.

In general, long syllables predominate in sublimity, sorrow, awe, reverence, adoration, calling, commanding, etc.; medium syllables in narration, description, bold and lofty thought, patriotism, courage, etc.; and short syllables in joy, mirth, laughter, exciting appeal, fright, anger, contempt, etc.

These facts should be taken into account by every high school student in writing an oration or other literary composition. These different kinds of syllables will heighten the effect desired. If you wish a paragraph full of gloom, go back through your work and see if you cannot substitute, for some of the words that you have, other words that will convey your meaning just as well, or better, and that have more long syllables in them. Likewise, in joy, see if you cannot use a greater number of short syllables.