The ASPIRATE VOICE is used to express Fear, Horror, Remorse, and Despair.

EXAMPLES.

FEAR OF BEING DISCOVERED A MURDERER.

Alack! I am afraid they have awak'd,

And 'tis not done :-th' attempt, and not the deed,
Confounds us.-Hark !-I laid their daggers ready :
He could not miss 'em.-Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done't.

HORROR AT A DREADFUL APPARITION.

Macbeth.

How ill this taper burns !-Ha! who comes here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me.-Art thou any thing?

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare?
Speak to me, what thou art.

Julius Cæsar.

TERROR BEFORE DREADFUL ACTIONS DESCRIBED.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing,
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream :
The Genius, and the mortal instruments,
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like a little kingdom, suffers then

The nature of an insurrection.

Julius Cæsar.

The TREMOR QUALITY expresses Pity, Grief, Tenderness, etc.

EXAMPLES.

PITY FOR A DEPARTED FRIEND.

Alas, poor Yorick !-I knew him, Horatio : a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times. And now, how abhorred my imagination is my gorge rises at it: Here hung those lips that I

Where be your gibes now? Your flashes of merriment,

have kissed I know not how oft. Your gambols? Your songs? that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? Quite chop-fallen? Now, get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come; make her laugh at that.— Hamlet.

POOR LITTLE JIM.

The cottage was a thatched one, the outside old and mean,
But all within that little cot was wondrous neat and clean;
The night was dark and stormy, the wind was howling wild,
As a patient mother sat beside the death-bed of her child :
A little worn-out creature, his once bright eyes grown dim:
It was a collier's wife and child, they called him little Jim.

e;

And oh ! to see the briny tears fast hurrying down her cheek, As she offered up the prayer, in thought, she was afraid to speak, Lest she might waken one she loved far better than her life For she had all a mother's heart, had that poor collier's wife. With hands uplifted, see, she kneels beside the sufferer's bed, And prays that He would spare her boy, and take herself instead.

She gets her answer from the child: soft falls the words from him,
"Mother, the angels do so smile, and beckon little Jim,
I have no pain, dear mother, now, but oh! I am so dry,
Just moisten poor Jim's lips again, and, mother, don't you cry."
With gentle, trembling haste she held the liquid to his lip;
He smiled to thank her, as he took each little, tiny sip.

"Tell father, when he comes from work, I said good-night to him,
And, mother, now I'll go to sleep." Alas! poor little Jim !
She knew that he was dying; that the child she loved so dear,
Had uttered the last words she might ever hope to hear:
The cottage door is opened, the collier's step is heard,
The father and the mother meet, yet neither speak a word.

He felt that all was over, he knew his child was dead,

He took the candle in his hand and walked towards the bed; His quivering lips gave token of the grief he'd fain conceal, And see, his wife has joined him-the stricken couple kneel: With hearts bowed down by sadness, they humbly ask of Him, In heaven, once more, to meet again their own poor little Jim.

The emotions help to define the voices. It is difficult to sep arate these Qualities of Voice. Like the emotions, they shade into each other so much, that it requires long and patient study to express, with exactness, the ideas of an author.

VARIATIONS OF VOICE.

PITCH-FORCE-TIME.

THE voice depends, for expression, upon Pitch, which refers

to the key-note, Force, which refers to the degree of loudness or volume, and Time, which refers to the rate of utterance or degree of rapidity with which words are uttered. We have anticipated these variations in the examples under Voice.

We mark three divisions of Pitch: High, as in shouting, or calling to persons at a distance, or giving commands; Low, as in solemn utterances, or emotions requiring the aspirate voice; and Middle, as in ordinary address and unimpassioned expressions.

The degrees of Force are almost without limit, but we make three general divisions: Loud and full Force, as in bold declamation and impassioned address; Medium Force, for unemotional utterances; and Soft or gentle Force, in pathetic or subdued emotions.

The time or movement of utterance depends upon the sentiments delivered, and the kinds are as numerous as the styles of thought, but we make three general divisions: Quick, Moderate, and Slow; or we might have quick and very quick, moderate and slow, and very slow.

High pitch.

EXAMPLES IN PITCH.

Son.-HURRAH FOR FREEDOM'S JUBILEE !

God bless our native land!

And may I live to hold the boon
Of freedom in my hand.

Moderate pitch.

Father.-Well done, my boy, grow up and love
The land that gave you birth,—

Low pitch.

A land where freedom loves to dwell,-
A paradise on earth.

We mustered at midnight,-in darkness we formed,And the whisper went round of a fort to be stormed: But no drum-beat had called us, no trumpet we heard, And no voice of command but our Colonel's low word"Column, Forward !"

And out through the mist and the murk of the morn, From the beaches of Hampton our barges were borne ; And we heard not a sound save the sweep of the oar, Till the word of our Colonel came up from the shore"Column, Forward !"

Moderate pitch.

THE PILOT.

1. The waves are high, the night is dark,

High pitch.

Low pitch.

Wild roam the foaming tides,

Dashing around the straining bark,
As gallantly she rides.

"Pilot! take heed what course you steer;
Our bark is tempest-driven !"

"Stranger, be calm, there is no fear

For him who trusts in Heaven !"

High pitch.

2. "O pilot! mark yon thunder-cloud-
The lightning's lurid rivers;

3. Borne by the winds, the vessel flies
Up to the thundering cloud;

High pitch.

Low pitch.

Now tottering low, the spray-winged seas
Conceal the topmast shroud.

"Pilot, the waves break o'er us fast,
Vainly our bark has striven !"

Stranger, the Lord can rule the blast-
Go, put thy trust in Heaven !"

Moderate pitch, joyous.

4. Good hope! good hope! one little star
Gleams o'er the waste of waters;

Very high.

'Tis like the light reflected far

Of Beauty's loveliest daughters;
"Stranger, good hope He giveth thee,
As He has often given;

Then learn this truth-whate'er may be,
TO PUT THY TRUST IN HEAVEN !"

"Young men, ahoy !”—

Moderate.

"What is it ?"—

Very high.

66

-Cochran

Beware! beware! The rapids are below you !"