The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant Part 48

_Jealousy_ would be likely to be well expressed by one, who had often seen prisoners tortured in the dungeons of the inquisition, or who had seen what the dungeons of the inquisition are the best earthly emblem of; I mean h.e.l.l. For next to being in the Pope's or in Satan's prison, is the torture of him who is possessed with the spirit of jealousy.

Being a mixture of pa.s.sions directly contrary to one another, the person, whose soul is the seat of such confusion and tumult, must be in as much greater misery than Prometheus, with the vulture tearing his liver, as the pains of the mind are greater than those of the body.

Jealousy is a ferment of love, hatred, hope, fear, shame, anxiety, suspicion, grief, pity, envy, pride, rage, cruelty, vengeance, madness, and if there be any other tormenting pa.s.sion which can agitate the human mind. Therefore to express jealousy well, requires that one know how to represent justly all these pa.s.sions by turns, (see _Love_, _Hatred_, &c.) and often several of them together. Jealousy shews itself by restlessness, peevishness, thoughtfulness, anxiety, absence of mind.

Sometimes it bursts out in piteous complaint and weeping; then a gleam of hope, that all is yet well, lights up the countenance into a momentary smile. Immediately the face, clouded with a general gloom, shews the mind overcast again with horrid suspicions and frightful imaginations. Then the arms are folded upon the breast; the fists violently clenched; the rolling, b.l.o.o.d.y eyes dart fury. He hurries to and fro; he has no more rest than a ship in a troubled sea, the sport of winds and waves. Again, he composes himself a little to reflect on the charms of the suspected person. She appears to his imagination like the sweetness of the rising dawn. Then his monster-breeding fancy represents her as false as she is fair. Then he roars out as one on the rack, when the cruel engine rends every joint, and every sinew bursts. Then he throws himself on the ground. He beats his head against the pavement.

Then he springs up, and with the look and action of a fury bursting hot from the abyss, he s.n.a.t.c.hes the instrument of death, and, after ripping up the bosom of the loved, suspected, hated, lamented, fair one, he stabs himself to the heart, and exhibits a striking proof, how terrible a creature a puny mortal is, when agitated by an infernal pa.s.sion.

_Dotage_ or _infirm old age_, shews itself by talkativeness, boasting of the past, hollowness of the eyes and cheeks, dimness of sight, deafness, tremor of voice, the accents, through default of teeth, scarce intelligible; hams weak, knees tottering, head paralytic, hollow coughing, frequent expectoration, breathless wheezing, laborious groaning, the body stooping under the insupportable load of years, which soon shall crush it into the dust, from whence it had its origin.

_Folly_, that is, of a natural ideot, gives the face an habitual thoughtless, brainless grin. The eyes dance from object to object, without ever fixing steadily upon any one. A thousand different and incoherent pa.s.sions, looks, gestures, speeches and absurdities, are played off every moment.

_Distraction_ opens the eyes to a frightful wideness, rolls them hastily and wildly from object to object; distorts every feature; gnashes with the teeth; agitates all parts of the body; rolls in the dust; foams at the mouth; utters, with hideous bellowings, execrations, blasphemies, and all that is fierce and outrageous, rushes furiously on all who approach; and, if not restrained, tears its own fiesh, and destroys itself.

_Sickness_ has infirmity and feebleness in every motion and utterance.

The eyes dim, and almost closed; cheeks pale and hollow; the jaw fallen; the head hung down, as if too heavy to be supported by the neck. A general inertia prevails. The voice trembling; the utterance through the nose; every sentence accompanied with a groan; the hand shaking, and the knees tottering under the body; or the body stretched helpless on the bed.

_Fainting_ produces a sudden relaxation of all that holds the human frame together, every sinew and ligament unstrung. The colour flies from the vermilion cheek; the sparkling eye grows dim. Down the body drops, as helpless, and senseless, as a ma.s.s of clay, to which, by its colour and appearance, it seems hastening to resolve itself--Which leads me to conclude with:

_Death_ the awful end of all flesh; which exhibits nothing in appearance different from what I have been just describing; for fainting continued ends in death,--a subject almost too serious to be made a matter of artificial imitation.

_Lower_ degrees of every pa.s.sion are to be expressed by more moderate exertions of voice and gesture; as every public speaker's discretion will suggest to him.

_Mixed_ pa.s.sions, or emotions of the mind, require a mixed expression.

_Pity_, for example, is composed of grief and love. It is therefore evident, that a correct speaker must, by his looks and gestures, and by the tone and pitch of his voice, express both grief and love, in expressing pity, and so of the rest.

It is to be remembered, that the action, in expressing the various humours and pa.s.sions, for which I have here given rules, is to be suited to the age, s.e.x, condition, and circ.u.mstances of the character. Violent anger, or rage, for example, is to be expressed with great agitation; (see _Anger_) but the rage of an infirm old man, of a woman, and of a youth, are all different from one another, and from that of a man in the flower of his age, as every speaker's discretion will suggest. A hero may shew fear, or sensibility of pain; but not in the same manner as a girl would express those sensations. Grief may be expressed by a person reading a melancholy story or description of a room. It may be acted upon the stage. It may be dwelt upon by the pleader at the bar; or it may have a place in a sermon. The pa.s.sion is still grief. But the manner of expressing it will be different in each of the speakers, if they have judgment.

A correct speaker does not make a movement of limb, or feature, for which he has not a reason. If he addresses heaven, he looks upward. If he speaks to his fellow-creatures, he looks round upon them. The spirit of what he says, or is said to him, appears in his look. If he expresses amazement, or would excite it, he lifts up his hands and eyes. If he invites to virtue and happiness, he spreads his arms, and looks benevolent. If he threatens the vengeance of heaven against vice, he bends his eye-brow into wrath and menaces with his arm and countenance.

He does not needlessly saw the air with his arm, nor stab himself with his finger. He does not clap his right hand upon his breast, unless he has occasion to speak of himself, or to introduce conscience, or somewhat sentimental. He does not start back, unless he wants to express horror or aversion. He does not come forward, but when he has occasion to solicit. He does not raise his voice, but to express somewhat peculiarly emphatical. He does not lower it, but to contrast the raising of it. His eyes, by turns, according to the humour of the matter he has to express, sparkle fury, brighten into joy, glance disdain, melt into grief, frown disgust and hatred, languish into love, or glare distraction.

_On Reading and Speaking_.

FROM BLAIR'S LECTURES.

The first object of a reader or speaker, is, to be clearly understood by his hearers. In order for this, it is necessary that he should p.r.o.nounce his words distinctly, and deliberately; that he should carefully avoid the two extremes of uttering either too fast, or too slow; and that his tone of voice should be perfectly natural.

A reader or speaker should endeavor to acquire a perfect command of his voice; so as neither to stun his hearers by pitching it upon too high a key; nor tire their patience by obliging them to listen to sounds which are scarcely audible. It is not the loudest speaker, who is always the best understood; but he who p.r.o.nounces upon that key which fills the s.p.a.ce occupied by the audience. That pitch of voice, which is used in ordinary conversation, is usually the best for a public speaker.

Early attention ought to be paid to the pauses; but the rules for these are so indefinite and arbitrary, and so difficult to be comprehended, that long experience is necessary in order to acquire a perfect knowledge of their use. With regard to the length of the several pauses, no precise rules can be given. This, together with the variety of tones which accompany them, depends much upon the nature of the subject.

Perhaps nothing is of more importance to a reader or speaker, than a proper attention to accent, emphasis, and cadence. Every word in our language, of more than one syllable, has, at least, one accented syllable. This syllable ought to be rightly known, and the word should be p.r.o.nounced by the reader or speaker in the same manner as he would p.r.o.nounce it in ordinary conversation.

By emphasis, we distinguish those words in a sentence which we esteem the most important, by laying a greater stress of voice upon them than we do upon the others. And it is surprising to observe how the sense of a phrase may be altered by varying the emphasis. The following example will serve as an ill.u.s.tration.

This short question, "Will you ride to town to-day?" may be understood in four different ways, and consequently, may receive four different answers, according to the placing of the emphasis.

If it be p.r.o.nounced thus; Will _you_ ride to town to-day? the answer may properly be, no; I shall send my son. If thus; Will you _ride_ to town to-day; Answer, no; I intend to walk. Will you ride to _town_ to-day?

No; I shall ride into the country. Will you ride to town _to-day_? No; but I shall to-morrow.

This shows how necessary it is that a reader or speaker should know where to place his emphasis. And the only rule for this is, that he study to attain a just conception of the force and spirit of the sentiments which he delivers. There is as great a difference between one who lays his emphasis properly, and one who pays no regard to it, or places it wrong, as there is between one who plays on an instrument with a masterly hand, and the most bungling performer.

Cadence is the reverse of emphasis. It is a depression or lowering of the voice; and commonly falls upon the last syllable in a sentence. It is varied, however, according to the sense. When a question is asked, it seldom falls upon the last word; and many sentences require no cadence at all.

In addition to what has been said, it is of great importance to attend particularly to tones and gestures. To almost every sentiment we utter, more especially, to every strong emotion, nature has adapted some peculiar tone of voice. And we may observe, that every man, when he is much in earnest in common discourse, when he is speaking on some subject which interests him nearly, has an eloquent or persuasive tone and manner.

If one were to tell another that he was very angry, or very much grieved, in a tone which did not suit such emotions, instead of being believed, he would be laughed at. The best direction which can be given, is, to copy the proper tones for expressing every sentiment from those which nature dictates to us in conversation with others.

With respect to gesture, the few following hints may be of some service.

When speaking in public, one should endeavor to preserve as much dignity as possible in the whole att.i.tude of the body. An erect posture is generally to be chosen; standing firm so as to have the fullest command of all his motions. Any inclination, which is used, should be forwards towards the hearers, which is a natural expression of earnestness.

As for the countenance, the chief rule is, that it should correspond with the nature of the discourse; and when no particular emotion is expressed, a serious and manly look is always the best. The eyes should never be fixed close on any one object, but more easily round upon the whole audience.

In the motions made with the hands consists the chief part of gesture in speaking. The right hand should be used more frequently than the left.

Warm emotions demand the motion of both hands corresponding together.

All the gestures should be free and easy. Perpendicular movements with the hands, that is, in a straight line up and down are seldom good.

Oblique motions are, in general, the most graceful.

Motions made with the hands should proceed rather from the shoulders than from the elbows; for they appear much more easy. Too sudden and nimble motions should be avoided. Earnestness can be fully expressed without them. Above all things, a speaker should guard against affectation, which is always disgustful.

_FINIS_.