From the Dodge Club, or Italy in MDCCCLIX, JAMES DE MILLE Pictures of Swiss Scenery and of the City of Venice, DISRAELI ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS. Aldrich, T. B. Arey, Mrs. H. E. G.. Barnard, Lady Anne Beecher, Henry Ward... Bigelow, L. J.. Bremer, Frederika Brown, Grace........ Chatterton, Thomas Clare, John Clark, James G.. Cleveland, Mrs.. Collins, William De Quincey, Thomas. Dickens, Charles.. Disraeli, Benjamin. Eager, Cora M. Fern, Fanny Ferrier, Mary Hazlitt, William Hemans, Felicia Henshaw, Sarah E. Holcroft Holmes, Oliver W.. 130, 260 341 114 124, 138 Jefferson, Thomas.. Macaulay, Thomas B.. Motherwell, William. Parker, Theodore... Percival, James G.... Procter, Adelaide. Procter, Bryan W. Proctor, Edna D. Read, Thomas B. Rolland... Schenck, Ellen.. Scott, Walter Shakspeare, William Shelley, Percy Bysshe Southey, Caroline A... Swan, Timothy Swinburn, Algernon C. Taylor, Benjamin F. Tennyson, Alfred Tilton, Theodore Tobin, John Trowbridge, J. T.. Ware, William W.. Webster, Daniel Whittier, John G... 161 Willis, Nathaniel P. 246 Willson, Forceythe 65 Wilson, John. 118 Anonymous, 69, 93, 145, 147, 148, 160, 163, 174, 181, 183, 187, 233, 244, 246, 268, 272, 279, 306,308, 312, 315, 318, 340 INTRODUCTION. Elocution is the art of expressing thought by speech. Instruction in this branch properly begins with vocal culture, and we find that systematic training and rigid practice develop the voice, and make it strong, flexible and melodious; just as athletic exercises give strength and pliability of muscle and grace of movement. The pugilist undergoes the most severe training for weeks and months to prepare himself for a contest of strength. And so, in ancient times, the gladiator exercised his muscles until the "strength of brass was in his toughened sinews," and he could rend the lion as if it were a kid. And that old oratorical gladiator, Demosthenes, practiced vocal gymnastics by the roaring sea, and left no means untried to remedy defects of voice and manner. Cicero studied oratory for thirty years, and traveled all over Asia to hear models of eloquence and to gain instruction. Curran, stuttering Jack Curran, cultivated his voice so industriously that he not only overcame the great defect, but was actually noted for the clearness and perfection of his articulation. He practiced before a mirror, and debated questions as if he were in a lyceum. But the development of the voice is only the beginning of the work. The student must be trained in the great school of nature. He must listen to her voice as she speaks in her children, and thus gather models for imitation. Rosa Bonheur has the unmistakable inspiration of genius, but she studied the physiology and characteristics of animals long and faithfully before she was able to paint her sheep and oxen with such life-like fidelity. Garrick's acting was so |