on him who sculptures in perishing marble the image of possible excellence, and withheld from him who built up in himself a transcendent character, indestructible as the obligations of Duty, and beautiful as her rewards ?-E. P. Whipple.

Whither, 'midst falling dew,

While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?

Vainly the fowler's eye

Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,

As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,

Thy figure floats along.

-Bryant, “To a Waterfowl."

Soars thy presumption, then, so high,
Because a wretched kern ye slew,
Homage to name to Roderick Dhu?
He yields not, he to man nor Fate!
Thou add'st but fury to my hate;
My clansman's blood demands revenge.
Not yet prepared? By heaven, I change
My thought, and hold thy valor light
As that of some vain carpet-knight
Who ill deserves my courteous care,
And whose best boast is but to wear
A braid of his fair lady's hair.-Scott.

LESSON XVIII.

Flexibility. Continued.

EXERCISE V.

The Arms.

Raise the arms straight above the head, with the palms up. Now relax them so that they fall of their own weight. If the arms are perfectly flexible and are not interfered with in any way, they will swing to and fro, pendulum-like, and come to rest gradually. Practise this until perfect flexibility is gained, but do not assist the movement by swinging the arms; they must be perfectly passive, If the clothing or the hips interfere with the arms, practise with one arm at a time, leaning the body over at the side sufficiently to give free play to the arm.

EXERCISE VI.

The Arms.

Standing in the Position of Respect, but with the feet a few inches apart to give greater firmness, turn the body on the ankles as far as possible from one

side to the other, keeping a perfectly upright position. This movement will throw the arms across the body and back. Practise slowly until you can keep the correct position of the body; then increase the rapidity until the arms are flung about with considerable violence. Keep the shoulders relaxed.

The Vowels.-Continued.

10. E or before r as in verge, firm, girl, clerk; also heard in earn, guerdon.

It is very difficult to describe this sound. The best that can be said is that it is not so heavy as the following sound (û in ûrge), yet is nearer to it than to the 9th sound (äh). We generally hear uncultivated speakers pronounce clerk, for instance, clûrk, while many give it the old-fashioned, quaint pronunciation of clärk, which prevails in England. E is about midway between these extremes. Do not say gyurl nor gurl, but girl.

11. U in up (short), or û in ûrn (long quantity of the same sound), úrge; also heard in world, blood, dungeon. 12. Ŏ in dŏll, nět, čften; also in knowledge. Do not say auften for often, dawg for dog, Gaud for God.

LESSON XIX.

Breathing-Exercises.-Continued.

Review Lesson IV.

EXERCISE IV.

(1) Place the hands on the upper part of the chest in front; (2) slowly inhale until the chest is expanded fully; (3) exhale the breath slowly, pressing in and down upon the chest with the hands as if to squeeze out the air. Do this slowly and very gently at first. (4) Inhale as if trying to press out the hands by means of the breath. Keep the shoulders very quiet. Repeat the exercise several times.

EXERCISE V.

Place the hands at the sides under the armpits; breathe in the same way as in Exercise IV.

EXERCISE VI.

Place one hand in front and the other at the back; expand, etc., as before.

When pupils have the bad habit of lifting the shoulders in breathing, they should practise

EXERCISE VII.

Seated in a chair, grasp the rounds at the sides in such a way that the arm is stretched fully and it is not possible for the shoulders to rise. In this position, take slow, full breaths, increasing the rapidity until it is possible to take a very short, quick breath without moving the shoulders.

TO THE TEACHER:-Breathing exercises are sometimes very exhausting to delicate pupils. Exercise the greatest caution with them, and remember that speedy and remarkable development is too often gained at the expense of vitality. The slowest growth is most permanent.

The Vowels.-Continued.

13. A in all call; also heard in taught, broad, thought.

A curious blunder on the part of many speakers is to mawr for maw, while at the

66

" for saw,

66

say sawr
same time they are often careful to say

more. Make a careful distinction between words like carves and calves without overdoing the r sound; also in orphan and often, coughing and coffin.

14. Ö before r in ör, nör; also in sewer, mower, oar, door, four. This sound of ö is not the sound of â; it is nearer to long ō.

The following examples may be used, at the discretion of the teacher, as studies in emotional breathing. Notice that the centre of activity varies with each example, as does also the texture of the body.