In the following reply of Death to Satan, there is a frequent occurrence of circumflexes, mingled with contempt: "And reckon's thou thyself with spirits of heaven, hell-doomed, and breath'st defiance here, and scorn where I reign king*?—and, to enrage thee more, th*y king and lord!" The voice is circumflexed on heaven, hell-doomed, king, and thy, nearly an octave.
CHAPTER X.
PERSONATION.
Personation is the representation, by a single reader or speaker, of the words, manners, and actions of one or several persons. The change of voice in personation in public reading is of great importance, but is generally overlooked, or but little practiced.
The student must practice assiduously upon such pieces as require Personation in connection with narrative and descriptive sentences, and he must use the Time, Pitch, Force, and Gesture, which are appropriate to the expression of the required thought. For example, if it be the words uttered by a dying child, the Pitch will be low, Pure Voice, slightly Tremor, Time slow, with a pause between the narrative and the quoted words of the child, these last being given very softly and hesitatingly.
1.
"Tell father, when he comes from work, I said goodnight to him; and mother —now-I'll-go-to-sleep."
The last words very soft, and hesitating utterance.
Before this example, is another in the same selection, not quite so marked, which we give from the third verse. She gets her answer from the child; softly fall 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 lips,——