question, about which they were divided in opinion. It is recorded in history, that Roscius acquired such wonderful skill, as to be able to express sentences or sentiments, "as many dif ferent ways by his gestures, as Cicero could by his voice." It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise, that the intelligent Greeks and sage Romans should have entertained conflicting opinions upon the relative or comparative influence of voice and gesture. Natural, animated, and graceful gestures are as necessary and effective now, as they were at any former period of the world. The important precept, "be graceful in your gestures," is not limited in its application, to one age or one country. It commends itself to the good sense of all men, especially readers and public speakers.

He whose gestures spontaneously conform to his subject, and who, in other respects, is truly eloquent, can, in the most effectual manner, make himself a master of other men's minds. Such an orator has power

The sight is the most delightful, if not the most perfect, of all our senses. Gesture, therefore, addresses itself with great power to the eye. Reading or speaking, in order to be highly interesting, must be accompanied by proper gestures. Such were the vehemence of action and gracefulness of gesture, with which Demosthenes spoke, that his antagonist, Æschines, whom he had banished from Athens, on reading over one of the orations of Demosthenes, when at Rhodes, and seeing that all who were present, admired it, could not forbear saying: "If the bare reading of it affects you so much, how much more would you have wondered, had you heard it delivered by Demosthenes himself." It was certainly the judicious action and energetic delivery of the great Athenian orator, which extorted from his rival and adversary, such remarkable and honorable testimony.

We form some opinion of a speaker, either favorable or unfavorable, from our first view of him. There is something in the manner in which a speaker walks into a house, or a pulpit, and takes his seat, and rises to address an assembly, which prejudices us, either in his favor or against him. moment an accomplished fencer makes a thrust, we perceive

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that he well understands the sword exercise. If the address of a speaker be good; if, moreover, his countenance and general appearance be indicative of scholarship and intelligence, the presentation itself is a burst of eloquence.

To point out all the faults of which speakers and readers are guilty, would swell this work beyond the limits within which the author must be confined. If a person commences speaking immediately upon presenting himself before an audience, without first casting his eyes around respectfully on the members of it,-if his appearance and deportment are awkward, if he puts his hands into his pockets, plays with his watch-chain, and looks with great attention on a little piece of paper,--if he assumes an unmanly posture,-if he make his oratory itinerating, by travelling alternately to the right and then the left,—if his eyes are fixed on one object, or are downcast, or partly closed, if he tastes of a glass of water, and spits a few times, if, in his gestures, he "saws the air,”—if all this, or any considerable part of it, be true of him, he may rest assured, that such faults, although they may be comparatively unimportant, will, nevertheless, create the belief with his hearers, that he is poorly qualified, either to instruct or amuse them, and also, that his habits are much more honored in the breach, than in the observance."

It is, undoubtedly, less difficult to speak negatively on the subject of gestures, than affirmatively; but there are certain general rules, from which an orator should seldom, if ever, depart. He should never begin a discourse immediately on presenting himself before an audience. His eyes should first be cast upon the members of it, with an air of respect. He should assume a dignified posture, and stand as firmly as a rock, and yet as gracefully as a Chesterfield. His head must not be thrown back nor forward. His shoulders should neither be elevated nor drawn down. The right hand.should be more frequently used than the left. Gestures should be made both from the elbow, and from the shoulder. They should not be made with the fingers, but with the palm of the hand open. When the speaker points towards an object or a person, on the left of him, the left hand only should be used. The motion of both hands together, is often demanded by the sentiments or emotions of the orator.

Thoughts should be indicated by the countenance, and es pecially by the eye, before they are heard in words. Gesticu

lation should certainly precede or be used during the utterance of the words, it is intended to enforce. It should never be used subsequently to their utterance. And, as Shakspeare says, "all should be done gently."

No speakers, except the practitioners of the histrionic art, should often close their hands or double up their fists. An incident is said to have occurred in the days of King James II. of England, which shows the ungracefulness of such a gesture. A clergyman,' eminent for his talents and piety, who was honored with the attendance of the king, with the view of impressing upon the king's mind an important truth, fixed his attention upon him, and, doubling up his fist, struck upon the desk with great force, and exclaimed: "There! who dares to deny that?" "No one," said King James, in a low voice, "that stands in reach of your fist."

A speaker should not stand perfectly erect, only when he is expressing courage, fortitude; firmness of purpose, &c. The posture of the body generally, should be a little inclined towards the audience. When he commences or finishes a discourse, both his arms should hang, as they naturally do, by the side. When gestures are made, in the course of a sermon or speech, by movements of the arm, the elbow ought to be kept at a distance from the body..

We learn how great the influence of gesture is, from the actor's art. Cicero justly observes, "that few can resist the effects, even of the moderate skill exhibited on the stage." The effects produced by the accomplished and unequalled Garrick, were wonderful. The bishop of London inquired of him, how he could interest his hearers so much by mere fiction, as to affect them, even unto tears, when "I cannot," continued the bishop, produce such effects upon my audience, with the most solemn realities of religion." The shrewd and philosophic reply of Garrick was: "I represent fiction as though it were reality; and you, reality as though it were fiction."

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Those automatical gestures which are too often taught, and that mechanical formality and intolerable affectation, which are sometimes countenanced in literary institutions, should be entirely and forever set aside. Excess in gestures, is to be avoided, as well as awkward ones. It is much better to have too little, than too much rhetorical action. The observations on gesticulation, will be concluded with an extract from Dr. Blair, who, in one of his lectures on Delivery, says: "To

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superficial thinkers, the management of the voice and gesture, m public speaking, may appear to relate to decoration only, and to be one of the inferior arts of catching an audience. But this is far from being the case. It is intimately connected with what is, or ought be, the end of all public speaking, persuasion; and, therefore, deserves the study of the most grave and serious speakers, as much as of those whose only aim it is to please."

REMARKS ON THE INFLECTIONS OF THE VOICE, WITH EXAMPLES.

Good Elocution is, in a great measure, a matter of taste. It depends chiefly upon the developement of the intellectual faculties, and the sensibilities of our nature; and, consequently, no precise rules can be applied to the modifications which the voice undergoes, in reading, conversation, or public speaking. Correct inflections are essential requisites to a finished rhetorical delivery; but the best means of acquiring it, is, to improve the voice, the taste, and the gestures.

If the attention be fixed upon the sentiments and the sense; nature, or habit, will spontaneously suggest the proper inflections. Some writers make a distinction between the eloquence of the pulpit, the eloquence of the bar, and the eloquence of popular assemblies. There is, nevertheless, but one kind of eloquence. It is the same thing in the social circle, in those departments of public life, and every where else.

To" suit the action to the word, and the word to the action," is eloquence under all circumstances. By how much we depart from this precept, by so much our elocution is defective. It is certain, that "nothing can gain entrance into the affections which stumbles at the threshold, by offending" either the eye or the "ear."

What are we to do, in order to exemplify that great elocutionary precept of Shakspeare? Simply to represent, by emphasis, or quantity, conjointly with action, those words and parts of sentences which are the most important in sense, in the strongest manner. And how is this to be done? Not by arbitrary rules, nor by persons destitute of taste or natural capacity. The qualifications of the orator are not entirely original, they are partly acquired. A complete orator never existed, with

out possessing both genius and learning. It is difficult to determine whether eloquence owes most to nature or cultivation; "nor is the inquiry of much practical interest, since neither of these, separated from the other, can produce an eloquent orator." Labor is the price to be paid, to attain excellence in oratory, even by those who possess peculiar and extraordinary natural qualifications. Eloquence is nature, ascertained and exemplified by the aid of good mental endowments, and the graces of a polished elocution. The object of art is, to ascertain and display the powers of nature; and, meanwhile, disguise the means by which it is done. The principle is, "Ars est celare artem," art is to conceal art. Eloquence consists in concealing the art by which we exhibit the free, full, and powerful machinery of nature.

If the voice is in a cultivated condition, and good sense be exercised, no effort to modify it is necessary. Emotion,or passion, attunes the voice, better than particular rules.

Demosthenes appeared not as one who wished to be admired as an elegant writer, or an eloquent speaker, but as “a passionate man tormented by truth." He was governed by no "key of rhetorical notation," nor by any marks of inflection. When he spoke so powerfully against Philip, that his hearers imagined they heard the rattling chains of the usurper, he doubtless broke through all the false rules with which some books on elocution are lumbered.

This is equally true of Cicero, when he vehemently exclaimed in the senate of Rome: "How long, O Cataline! wilt thou abuse our patience?" and when he spoke of the battle of Pharsalia, so eloquently that Julius Cæsar turned pale.

Of Patrick Henry, when he said in Virginia, in 1765, with the most expressive look, and in a voice so powerful that it seemed to shake the house in which he spoke: "Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third-[treason, TREASON, cried the members of the house of burgesses] may profit by their example." And when, in 1798, in reply to a preacher, who observed to an admiring crowd, "Mr. Henry is not a God," he said, "No, indeed," deeply affected both by the scene and the remark, no, indeed, my friend; I am but a poor worm of the dust-as fleeting and unsubstantial as the shadow of the cloud that flies over your fields, and is remembered no more."

Of Whitefield, when by the transcendent power of his eloquence, he compelled Dr. Franklin, against his pre-determina