The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 Part 1

The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886.

by Ministry of Education.

PREFACE.

The selections in the HIGH SCHOOL READER have been chosen with the belief that to pupils of such advancement as is required for entrance into High Schools and Collegiate Inst.i.tutes, oral reading should be taught from the best literature, inasmuch as it not only affords a wide range of thought and sentiment, but it also demands for its appropriate vocal interpretation such powers of sympathy and appreciation as are developed only by culture; and it is to impart culture that these inst.i.tutions of higher learning have been established.

Experience has shown that it is from their ordinary reading books that pupils obtain their chief practical acquaintance with literature, and the selections here presented have been made with this in remembrance.

They have been taken from the writings of authors of acknowledged representative character; and they have been arranged for the most part chronologically, so that pupils may unconsciously obtain some little insight into the history of the development of the literary art. They have also been so chosen as to convey a somewhat fair idea of the relative value and productivity of authorship in the three great English-speaking communities of the world--the mother countries, our neighbours' country, and our own.

While a limited s.p.a.ce, if nothing else, prevents the collection here made from being a complete anthology, yet it does pretend to represent the authors selected in characteristic moods, and (in so far as is possible in a school book, and a reading text-book) to present a somewhat fair perspective of the world of authorship. It may be said that, if this be so, some names are conspicuously absent: McGee, Canada's poet-orator; Parkman, who has given to our country a place in the portraiture of nations; William Morris, the chief of the modern school of romanticism; Tyndall, who of the literature of science has made an art; Lamb, daintiest of humorists; Collins, "whose range of flight," as Swinburne says, "was the highest of his generation." Either from lack of s.p.a.ce, or from some inherent unsuitableness in such selections as might otherwise have been made, it was found impossible to represent these names worthily; but as they are all more or less adequately represented in the _Fourth Reader_, the teacher who may wish to correct the perspective here presented may refer his pupils to the pieces from these authors there given. It may be added, too, that the body of recent literature is so enormous, that no adequate representation of it (at any rate as regards quant.i.ty) is possible within the limits of one book.

The selections in poetry, with but three necessary exceptions, are complete wholes, and represent, as fairly as single pieces can, the respective merits and styles of their authors. The selections in prose cannot, of course, lay claim to this excellence; but they are all complete in themselves, or have been made so by short introductions; and it is hoped that they too are not unfairly representative of their authors. In many cases they are of somewhat unusual length; by this, however, they gain in interest and in representative character.

In some of the prose selections, pa.s.sages have occasionally been omitted, either because they interfered with the main narrative, or because, as they added nothing to it, to omit them would be a gain of s.p.a.ce. In most cases these omissions are indicated by small asterisks.

All the selections, both in prose and in verse, have been made with constant reference to their suitableness for the teaching of reading.

They are fitted to exemplify every mode of expression, except, perhaps, that appropriate to a few of the stronger pa.s.sions. It is not pretended that they are all simple and easy. Many of them will require much study and preparation before they can be read with that precision of expression which is necessary to perfect intelligibility. The chronological arrangement precludes grading; the teacher will decide in what order the selections are to be read.

The introductory chapter is mainly intended to a.s.sist the teacher in imparting to his pupils a somewhat scientific knowledge of the art of reading. Of course the teacher will choose for himself his mode of dealing with the chapter, but it has been written with the thought that he should use it as a convenient series of texts, which he might expand and ill.u.s.trate in accordance with his opportunities and judgment.

Examples for ill.u.s.tration are indispensable to the successful study of the principles described, and they should be sought for and obtained by the teacher and pupils together (whenever possible they should be taken from the READER), and should be kept labeled for reference and practice.

If the application of these principles be thus practically made by the pupils themselves, they will receive a much more lasting impression of their meaning and value than if the examples were given to them at no cost of thought or search on their part.

To the teacher it is recommended that he should not be contented with the short and necessarily imperfect exposition of the art of reading therein given. The more familiar he is with the scientific principles the more successfully will he be able to direct the studies and practices of his pupils. Works on elocution are numerous and accessible.

Dr. Rush's _Philosophy of the Voice_ is perhaps the foundation of all subsequent good work in the exposition of voice culture. Professor Murdoch's _a.n.a.lytic Elocution_ is an exhaustive and scholarly treatise based upon it, and to the plan of treatment therein fully developed the practical part of the introductory chapter has largely conformed.

The pleasing task remains of thanking those authors who have so kindly responded to requests for permission to use selections from their works: to President Wilson, for a sonnet from _Spring Wild Roses_, and for _Our Ideal_; to Mr. Charles Sangster, for two sonnets from _Hesperus_; to Mr.

John Reade, for two poems from _The Prophecy of Merlin_; to Mr. Charles Mair, for the scenes from _Tec.u.mseh_; and to Professor C. G. D. Roberts, for _To Winter_.

To Miss A. T. Jones, thanks are due for permission to use _Abigail Becker_, recently published in the _Century Magazine_. The heroic acts described in this poem seem so wonderful, so greatly superior to woman's strength, even to human strength and endurance, to accomplish, that were it possible to doubt its truthfulness, doubt one certainly would.

Nevertheless the poem is not only strictly in accordance with the facts, it is even within and below them.

INTRODUCTORY.

The ability to read well cannot be attained without much pains and study. For even a moderate proficiency in the art of reading two requirements are essential: (1) A cultivated mind quick to perceive the sequence of thoughts which the words to be read logically express, and equally quick in its power sympathetically to appreciate the sentiment with which the words are informed--the feeling, emotion, pa.s.sion, which pervades them--but which they suggest rather than actually portray; and (2) a voice so perfected that its utterances fall upon the ear of the listener with pleasing effect, and so flexible that it can be managed skilfully to convey to him the full meaning and force of all the ideas and sentiments formally expressed by the words or latent in them. Of these two requirements the first is undeniably the more important; and that training in the art of reading in which the close, persistent, and liberal study of literature for its own sake has not proceeded _pari pa.s.su_ with the requisite exercises for the development of the powers of the voice and with the study of the principles of vocal interpretation, has resulted in a meretricious accomplishment of very illusive value.

Nor will the special study and accurate mastery of a number of individual selections give that readiness of mental apprehension which is indispensable to a good reader. The ability quickly to recognize word-forms and to utter them with ease, to catch the drift of ideas, and to feel ready sympathy with change and flow in sentiment, is not to be had without a long course of wide and varied reading. No one can become a good reader by pa.s.sing through, no matter how carefully, a set of reading text-books merely. Pupils should be encouraged to read for themselves. They should, of course, be guided in their selection of reading matter, and they should be helped to acquire a taste for that which is purest and most helpful in literature; but unless they form a _habit_ of reading, and of reading thoughtfully and with precision, they can never become good readers.

In oral reading, readiness and accuracy depend largely upon the alertness and flexibility of the vocal organs, and to secure ease and excellence in the working of their delicate mechanism much practice is necessary. The pupil should persistently read aloud. A practice of this sort, watchfully pursued, with a reasonable degree of self-discipline in the correction or avoidance of errors, is helpful not alone in obtaining a mastery of the reading art, and in mental culture,--it is equally beneficial as a physical exercise. It will, however, be much more efficacious of good, both of mind and of body, if pursued in accordance with those principles of voice culture and of vocal interpretation, which experience and special study have established.

But only a small proportion of all the reading that is done, is oral reading. It is _silent_ reading that is universally employed as an instrument of study, of business, of amus.e.m.e.nt. As a rule, however, very little provision is made for the acquirement of a facility in silent reading; this, it is thought, will result as a by-product of the regular training in oral reading. Almost the reverse of this is true. Ease and flexibility of articulation, quickness in catching the drift of ideas, and readiness in varying the tones of the voice in the utterance of words so as impressively to portray their latent sentiment,--all this is possible with those alone to whom difficult word-forms, complex sentence-structures, and the infinite variety and play of thought and emotion, are more or less familiar through such a wide range of reading as only the silent prosecution of it makes possible.

The art of oral reading, however, though not so generally needful as silent reading, is still of great importance to everyone in respect of its practical utility simply,--though few of those whose duty it is to read aloud in public, do so either with accuracy or grace; as an accomplishment which may be used to give pleasure to others, it is, when perfectly possessed, not excelled by any other; so that as an acquisition which puts one in a position of vantage either for benefitting one's self or for bestowing delight or benefit upon others, it is worth every necessary struggle for its attainment.

One of the most valuable results of oral reading when systematically pursued as a school study, is the effect which it has in improving the tones of the voice for ordinary conversation and discourse, and in securing some measure of orthoepy as a fixed habit of utterance.

Conversational speech is notoriously slovenly. The sonority of our vowels is lost, and their distinguishing qualities are obscured; and with unnoticed frequency our consonants are either dropped or amalgamated with one another. Yet, while amendment in these matters is to be striven for, there is nothing that the teacher who wishes to establish habits of orthoepy has to be more watchful in guarding against, than bestowing upon his pupils an affected or mincing utterance, all the more ludicrous and objectionable, it may be, in that a certain set of words are p.r.o.nounced with over-nicety, while almost all others are left in a state of neglected vulgarity.

Too frequently the study of oral reading is pursued with reference solely to the prospective public use of the art in the declamation of prepared pa.s.sages; and the elocution-master's science has been brought into some discredit by wide discrepancies between the performances of his pupils in their well-drilled and often hackneyed selections and their ability to read unfamiliar pieces at sight. It is quite true that voice culture is greatly aided by the close study and frequent rendering of selections suitably chosen for the elocutionary difficulties which they present; but it should never be forgotten that good reading, the sort of reading which the schoolmaster should above all else endeavor to make his pupils proficient in, implies the ability so to read a plain account, a story, an oration, a play, or what not, _at sight_, with absolute correctness as to p.r.o.nunciation, with such clearness of articulation and appropriateness of sentence utterance as will make it perfectly audible and intelligible to one's auditors, and with such suitable and impressive intonations as will put them in full possession of those emotions which may be said to be the essence or spirit of the piece;--and, moreover, to do all this with pleasure to one's hearers and with ease to one's self. Now as comparatively few readers are ever required to read in public, and as in the home-circle everyone ought to read, it is plain that the first duty of the teacher of elocution is to develop in his pupils a mastery of such a style of reading as is appropriate to small audiences; and, _then_, if he have time and opportunity, to extend and amplify the practice of his art so as to fit such as are capable of fuller mastery of it to appear before greater audiences. For though all voices are capable of being much improved through cultivation, few only can be adapted to the requirements of a large auditorium; and the care and attention which should be devoted to the benefit of all should not be spent for the advantage merely of the few.

And moreover, those practices and studies which voice culture and the attainment of a knowledge of the principles of vocal interpretation demand, may be pursued by all in common. That alone which is necessary for the public reader or orator, is a more extended, and, perhaps, a more earnest and thoughtful practice.

Although practices for the improvement of the voice cannot proceed far without attention to the principles of vocal interpretation, and though the study of the latter necessarily includes the former, yet for the sake of clearness the elementary principles of voice culture may be discussed separately from their application in the interpretation of thought and sentiment.

With respect both to articulation and expression _the generic properties of the voice are five_, namely: _Quality_, _Pitch_, _Force_, _Time_, _Abruptness_. Of these properties there are, of course, many modes or degrees, but the voice must, in every tone that it utters, manifest itself in some mode or other of each; and it is the possibility of infinite choice in the ways of combining the modes that gives to vocal expression its infinite possibility of variety. The principles of voice culture will be best understood, however, if these properties be considered separately.

=Quality= has reference to the _kind_ of the voice in respect of its smoothness or roughness, sonority or thinness, musicalness or harshness; also in respect of the completeness of its vocality.

=Pitch= has reference to the degree of elevation or depression in what is called in music the _scale_. It may be used specifically, in reference to single tones or syllables (either as to their opening, or as to their whole utterance), or generally, as descriptive of the prevailing tone or note which the voice a.s.sumes in reading a sentence or pa.s.sage.

=Force= has reference to the power or intensity with which the sounds of the voice are uttered. When force is used in the utterance of single syllables, in whole or in part, it is spoken of as =Stress=.

=Time= is rate of utterance. It is used with reference both to single syllables, and to phrases, sentences, and pa.s.sages. In regard to single syllables it is sometimes called =Quant.i.ty=. In the consideration of time may be included that of _pauses_ and _rhythms_.

=Abruptness= has reference to the relative suddenness with which syllables may be uttered. It may vary from the most delicate opening to a forcible explosion.

Vocality depends upon respiration. All exercises, therefore, which are effective in increasing the vigor, freedom, and elasticity of the breathing apparatus, may be taken as initiatory steps in voice culture; and, in moderation, they should be practised continually. Full, slow inspirations followed by slow, and, as far as possible, complete expirations; full, quick inspirations similarly followed; full inspirations followed by sudden and forcible expirations; full, deep inspirations, followed by slow, slightly but distinctly audible expirations, as in deep sighing; these and similar practices may be pursued. What is to be aimed at is to secure complete control of the breath, especially to the degree that, with perfect deliberateness, it can be equably and smoothly effused.

In all exercises where vocality is required it is best _first_ to use the sound of _a_, as in _far_, for in this sound the quality of the human voice is heard in most perfection, and in uttering it the vocal organs are most flexible and most easily adapt themselves to change. It may be preceded by the aspirate _h_, or by some consonant, as may be thought necessary.

In effective speaking or reading, _with respect to the abruptness and rapidity of expiration there are three modes of utterance_: the =effusive=, by which the voice is poured forth smoothly and equably, the =expulsive= and the =explosive=. Of these three modes the effusive is by far the most important, but the others, and especially the expulsive, have their uses also. These modes will be ill.u.s.trated in the following exercise:

EXERCISE.--1. After a full and deliberate inspiration let the expiration of the element _h_ be gently effected, until the lungs are exhausted--the aspiration coming from the very depths of the throat. Let this be repeated with the syllable _hah_, audibly whispered. This is _effusive_ utterance.

2. After a full and deliberate inspiration let the expiration of the element _h_ be suddenly effected, the expiration being continued until the whispering sound vanishes in the bottom of the throat. Let this be repeated with the syllable _hah_, audibly whispered. This is _expulsive_ utterance.

3. Let the exercise be the same as in (2) except that the expiration is to be much more forcibly effected, and completed almost instantaneously. This is _explosive_ utterance.

In the cultivation of the voice either one of two ends is generally kept in view--its improvement for speaking or its improvement for singing; but progress may be made towards both ends by the same study, and those exercises which benefit the singing voice benefit the speaking voice, and _vice versa_. _The distinction between speaking tones and singing tones should be clearly understood._ Musical tones are produced by isochronous (equal-timed) vibrations of the vocal organs continued for some length of time. Hence, a musical tone is a _note_, which may be prolonged at will without varying in pitch, either up or down. A speaking tone, on the contrary, is produced by vibrations which are not isochronous; it is not a _note_, properly so called, and can not be prolonged, without varying in pitch. Musical tones are _discrete_,--the voice pa.s.ses from pitch to pitch through the intervals silently. In speaking, _every_ tone, however short the time taken in uttering it, pa.s.ses from one pitch to some other through an interval _concretely_, that is, with continuous vocality; though, with respect to one another, speech syllables, like notes in music, are discrete. This may be exemplified by uttering the words, "_Where are you going?_" In singing these words, they may be uttered on the same note, or on different notes, or, indeed, with different notes for the same word; but the voice _skips_ from note to note through the intervals. In speaking the words, each is uttered with an inflection or intonation in which the voice varies in pitch, but pa.s.ses through the interval concretely; the separate words, however, and the separate syllables (if there were any) being uttered discretely. Musical utterance might be graphically ill.u.s.trated by a series of horizontal lines of less or greater length succeeding one another at different distances above or below a fixed horizontal line. In a similar notation for speech utterance the lines would all be curved, to represent the concrete pa.s.sage through the various intervals. _It is the concrete intonation of every syllable and monosyllabic word which gives to speech its distinctive character from music._ Each syllable and monosyllabic word is called a =concrete=, and _it is with the concrete in all its various possibilities of utterance that voice culture has mainly to do_.

The intervals traversed by the voice in uttering the concrete are very variable. Using the musical scale for reference it may be said that in ordinary speech they are generally of but one, or, at most, two notes.

In animated discourse or pa.s.sionate utterance the intervals may be greater. For ill.u.s.tration, let the p.r.o.noun "_I_" be uttered in a tone of interrogative surprise; a concrete with a rising interval will be the result. The more the surprise is emphasized, especially if indignation be conjoined with it, the greater will be the interval that the voice pa.s.ses through in uttering the concrete. If the word "_lie_" be given immediately after the p.r.o.noun with the same intensity of feeling, the voice discretely descends from the high pitch heard at the end of the utterance of the p.r.o.noun, and in uttering the next concrete, again ascends through an interval, of less or more extent according to the emphasis which is imparted to it.

Again, in speech of sorrow, murmuring, piteous complaint, and the like, concrete intervals of less extent than those used in ordinary discourse are often heard. Thus, if the sentence "_Pity me, kind lady, I have no mother_," be uttered with a plaintive expression, concretes with small intervals will be distinctly noticeable; but it will be also noticed that with respect to one another the syllables are discretely uttered, just as in the sentence where the concrete intervals were much greater.

Without intending a scientifically accurate and rigid statement, it may be said (again borrowing the terminology of music) that in ordinary speech the concretes are uttered with intervals of a _second_, or at most a _third_; that in very expressive or impa.s.sioned utterance intervals of a _fifth_ or an _octave_ are frequently used; and that the mode of progression from syllable to syllable is _diatonic_, that is, not concretely, but discretely from tone to tone; and further, that in plaintive language, the syllables are uttered concretely with intervals of a _semitone_ only, but that the mode of progression from syllable to syllable is still discrete.

Sometimes, but rarely, syllables are uttered _tremulously_, or with a _tremor_; that is, with const.i.tuent intervals of less than a semitone, uttered discretely in rapid succession, and pa.s.sing, in the aggregate, through an interval of more or less width. An exaggerated form of this utterance may be heard in the neighing of a horse.

EXERCISE.--1. Utter the syllable _pa_ as a concrete, with rising and falling intervals, severally, of a _second_, _third_, _fifth_, and an _octave_; also with intervals of a _semitone_; also with a _tremor_. Let the exercise be varied so as to include many degrees of initial pitch. Use a diagram of a musical staff for reference.

2. Read with exaggerated impressiveness, "_Am_ =I= _to be your slave?_ =No!="

In the p.r.o.nunciation of the letter [=a], as in _pate_, two sounds are heard: the first is that of the name of the letter, which is uttered with some degree of fulness; the second is that of _[=e]_ in _mete_, but, as it were, tapering and vanishing;--in the meantime the voice traverses a rising interval of one tone, that is, of a second. The utterance of these two sounds, although the sounds themselves are distinct, is completely continuous, from the full opening of the one to the vanishing close of the other, and it is impossible to say where the first ends and where the last begins. It is essential, however, to consider them separately. The first is called the =radical movement=, and the second the =vanishing movement=; and these together const.i.tute the entire concrete.