LESSON XVIII. Flexibility.-Continued. EXERCISE V. The Arms. Raise the arms straight above the head, with the palms up. Now relax them so that they fall of their own weight. If the arms are perfectly flexible and are not interfered with in any way, they will swing to and fro, pendulum-like, and come to rest gradually. Practise this until perfect flexibility is gained, but do not assist the movement by swinging the arms; they must be perfectly passive. If the clothing or the hips interfere with the arms, practise with one arm at a time, leaning the body over at the side sufficiently to give free play to the arm. EXERCISE VI. The Arms. Standing in the Position of Respect, but with the feet a few inches apart to give greater firmness, turn the body on the ankles as far as possible from one side to the other, keeping a perfectly upright position. This movement will throw the arms across the body and back. Practise slowly until you can keep the correct position of the body; then increase the rapidity until the arms are flung about with considerable violence. Keep the shoulders relaxed. The Vowels.-Continued. 10. E or before r as in verge, firm, girl, clerk; also heard in earn, guerdon. It is very difficult to describe this sound. The best that can be said is that it is not so heavy as the following sound (û in ûrge), yet is nearer to it than to the 9th sound (äh). We generally hear uncultivated speakers pronounce clerk, for instance, clûrk, while many give it the old-fashioned, quaint pronunciation of clärk, which prevails in England. E is about midway between these extremes. Do not say gyurl nor gurl, but girl. 11. Ŭ in up (short), or û in ûrn (long quantity of the same sound), ûrge; also heard in world, blood, dungeon. 12. Ŏ in dŏll, not, öften; also in knowledge. Do not say auften for often, dawg for dog, Gaud for God. LESSON XIX. Breathing-Exercises.-Continued. Review Lesson IV. EXERCISE IV. (1) Place the hands on the upper part of the chest in front; (2) slowly inhale until the chest is expanded fully; (3) exhale the breath slowly, pressing in and down upon the chest with the hands as if to squeeze out the air. Do this slowly and very gently at first. (4) Inhale as if trying to press out the hands by means of the breath. Keep the shoulders very quiet. Repeat the exercise several times. EXERCISE V. Place the hands at the sides under the armpits; breathe in the same way as in Exercise IV. EXERCISE VI. Place one hand in front and the other at the back; expand, etc., as before. When pupils have the bad habit of lifting the shoulders in breathing, they should practise EXERCISE VII. Seated in a chair, grasp the rounds at the sides in such a way that the arm is stretched fully and it is not possible for the shoulders to rise. In this position, take slow, full breaths, increasing the rapidity until it is possible to take a very short, quick breath without moving the shoulders. TO THE TEACHER:-Breathing exercises are sometimes very exhausting to delicate pupils. Exercise the greatest caution with them, and remember that speedy and remarkable development is too often gained at the expense of vitality. The slowest growth is most permanent. The Vowels.-Continued. 13. A in all call; also heard in taught, broad, thought. 66 A curious blunder on the part of many speakers is to " for saw, say sawr "mawr for maw, while at the same time they are often careful to say maw for more. Make a careful distinction between words like carves and calves without overdoing the sound; also in orphan and often, coughing and coffin. 14. Ö before r in ör, nör; also in sewer, mower, oar, door, four. This sound of ö is not the sound of a; it is nearer to long ō. â; The following examples may be used, at the discretion of the teacher, as studies in emotional breathing. Notice that the centre of activity varies with each example, as does also the texture of the body. 4 EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE IN BREATHING. Down with the tyrants of England! we never have sworn them allegiance! Death to these foreign soldiers, who seize on our homes and our harvests.-Longfellow. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.-Bible. By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is a-weary of this great world. -Shakespeare. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, ho, ho, he, he, he, he, he! Alas! Ah me! Old Simon doth chuckle and crow, "Ho, ho, Ay, de mi! Like echoes falling, It was the butcher's daughter, then, -Old Song. That sobbed as if her heart would break, And tore her yellow hair; And thus she spoke in thrilling tone, Fast fell the tear-drops big: "Ah, woe is me! Alas! alas! The pig! the pig! the pig!"-Holmes. |