hotel in a large city, and listen to the buzz-saw voices of the chorus girls from some burlesque “attraction.”  The explanation is simple—­buzz-saw lives.  Emerson said:  “When a man lives with God his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook or the rustle of the corn.”  It is impossible to think selfish thoughts and have either an attractive personality, a lovely character, or a charming voice.  If you want to possess voice charm, cultivate a deep, sincere sympathy for mankind.  Love will shine out through your eyes and proclaim itself in your tones.  One secret of the sweetness of the canary’s song may be his freedom from tainted thoughts.  Your character beautifies or mars your voice.  As a man thinketh in his heart so is his voice.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1.  Define (a) charm; (b) joy; (c) beauty.

2.  Make a list of all the words related to joy.

3.  Write a three-minute eulogy of “The Joyful Man.”

4.  Deliver it without the use of notes.  Have you carefully considered all the qualities that go to make up voice-charm in its delivery?

5.  Tell briefly in your own words what means may be employed to develop a charming voice.

6.  Discuss the effect of voice on character.

7.  Discuss the effect of character on voice.

8.  Analyze the voice charm of any speaker or singer you choose.

9.  Analyze the defects of any given voice.

10.  Make a short humorous speech imitating certain voice defects, pointing out reasons.

11.  Commit the following stanza and interpret each phase of delight suggested or expressed by the poet.

    An infant when it gazes on a light,
        A child the moment when it drains the breast,
    A devotee when soars the Host in sight,
        An Arab with a stranger for a guest,
    A sailor when the prize has struck in fight,
        A miser filling his most hoarded chest,
    Feel rapture; but not such true joy are reaping
    As they who watch o’er what they love while sleeping.

—­BYRON, Don Juan.

CHAPTER XIV

DISTINCTNESS AND PRECISION OF UTTERANCE

    In man speaks God.

    —­HESIOD, Words and Days.

    And endless are the modes of speech, and far
    Extends from side to side the field of words.

    —­HOMER, Iliad.

In popular usage the terms “pronunciation,” “enunciation,” and “articulation” are synonymous, but real pronunciation includes three distinct processes, and may therefore be defined as, the utterance of a syllable or a group of syllables with regard to articulation, accentuation, and enunciation.

Distinct and precise utterance is one of the most important considerations of public speech.  How preposterous it is to hear a speaker making sounds of “inarticulate earnestness” under the contented delusion that he is telling something to his audience!  Telling?  Telling means communicating, and how can he actually communicate without making every word distinct?