speaking. But as just stated, a parenthesis should be avoided whenever possible, as it is usually a tax upon the listener's attention, and, moreover, he dislikes too many details and explanations.

Musical speaking tones depend upon gentle breathing. A speaker should accustom himself, through previous practise, to take a breath at every pause. One of the commonest faults of untrained speakers is that of speaking right on until the breath is exhausted. This is a severe strain upon the throat and voice, since the speaker is then really doing most of his work upon only half-filled lungs. The guiding rule should be to keep the lungs well-inflated whenever possible, and to utilize every opportunity for taking a fresh breath. This form of deep breathing will enable a person to speak for hours, if occasion demand, without vocal fatigue.

A speaker should not drink while making a speech. If he does, the tendency will be to increase the dryness of the throat. The method of breathing just recommended will probably obviate any trouble of the kind, but if a speaker before rising to address an audience, has a sensation of dryness of throat, the best plan is to chew a small piece of paper.

The day has gone by when a speaker can safely follow the advice to regard his audience "as a field of cabbages." It is much better to emulate the example of Lincoln, who always thought of his audience as probably knowing more about his subject than he did, and preparing himself accordingly. Many men who can not themselves make a good speech readily know a good speech from a bad one, and as a usual thing are the severest critics. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that a speaker,

from the moment he begins the preparation of his speech until its final delivery, should bear in mind that he is to address intelligent people who will not be easily convinced nor persuaded, save by sound argument and genuine appeals to the heart. A man should speak in his own voice, having first developed its power and responsiveness, knowing that no imitation of another man's style, however excellent, will ever make him a great speaker.

The conclusion of a speech, which may take the form of a recapitulation of what has been said, should be delivered in such a way as to give the listener intimation that the speaker is about to close. It is usually advisable to end with considerable spirit and animation, altho the general rate of speaking becomes noticeably slow and measured. But a speaker should never give the impression of finishing his speech, and then just as every one thinks he has ended, start off again upon some new phase of his subject.

Prolixity is a too common fault of speakers, and nowhere is this so apparent as in the attempt to bring a speech to a conclusion. The advice of Bautain on this subject is worthy of note:

There is a way of concluding which is most simple, the most rational, and the least adopted. True, it gives little trouble and affords no room for pompous sentences, and that is why so many despise it, and do not even give it a thought. It consists merely of winding up by a rapid recapitulation of the whole discourse, presenting in sum what has been developed in the various parts, so as to enunciate only the leading ideas with their connectiona process which gives the opportunity of a nervous and lively summary, foreshortening all that has been stated, and making the remembrance and profitable application of it easy.

And since you have spoken to gain some point, to convince and persuade your hearer, and thus influence his will by im

pressions and considerations, and finally by some paramount feeling which must give the finishing stroke and determine him to action, the epitome of the ideas must be itself strengthened, and, as it were, rendered living by a few touching words which inspirit the feeling in question at the last moment, so that the convinced and affected auditor shall be ready to do what he is required.

Such, in my mind, is the best peroration, because it is alike the most natural and the most efficacious. It is the straight aim of the discourse, and as it issues from the very bowels of the subject and from the direct intention of the speaker, it goes right to the soul listener and places the two in unison at the close.

I am aware that you may, and with success, adopt a different method of concluding, either by some pungent things which you reserve for your peroration, and which tend to maintain to the last and even to reawaken the attention of the audience; or else by well-turned periods which flatter the ear and excite all sorts of feelings, more or less analogous to the subjects-or, in fine, by any other way. Undoubtedly there are circumstances in which these oratorical artifices are in keeping, and may prove advantageous or agreeable; I do not reject them, for in war all means, not condemned by humanity and honor, and capable of procuring victory, are allowable-and public speaking is a real conflict; I merely depose that the simplest method is also the best, and that the others, belonging more to art than to nature, are rather in the province of rhetoric than of true eloquence.

The truly eloquent man, tho not lacking in oratorical graces, invariably gives the impression that he is natural and sincere. He is earnest, direct, simple, adaptable, and sympathetic, and it is largely these great qualities which constitute the greatness of his speaking.

IV

SOURCES OF POWER

The testimony of the greatest orators is that, whatever natural gifts a man may possess, no really good speech is ever made without thorough preparation. There are, of course, many ways of preparing a speech, some of which are not to be recommended. For example, to write out a composition, and then so to revise, condense, and polish it as to take out all its vitality and naturalness, may produce a good essay, but it will not make a good speech.

Thorough preparation does not imply that the speaker must necessarily write out and commit to memory so many pages of words. It means, rather, that whatever method the speaker finds best adapted to fix his speech in mind, he so thoroughly prepares the subject-matter that his ideas are perfectly clear in his mind, and when he comes to "think aloud," he does so with a precision and confidence born of second nature. He is recommended, therefore, to sketch in his mind, while out walking, or in the solitude of his library, a clear and vivid outline of his subject, and, the same as he would do in writing, mentally place under each division of his outline such headings as he intends to speak upon. He may carry the mental process to the extent of thinking out what he will say under each heading, until at length the entire subject is held in his mind with clearness and accuracy.

There can be no doubt that one of the greatest sources

of power in extemporaneous speaking is that of previous practise. The method of a distinguished member of the House of Commons, described by Lord Dufferin, may be followed to advantage. When he intended to speak upon an important subject, he would write down his thoughts on paper as rapidly as possible, and then throw the paper into the fire. This he repeated several times, endeavoring at each effort to choose new phraseology, and destroying his composition as before. It is said that when he subsequently stood before his colleagues to speak, his mind was so steeped in his subject, and he was so fortified with appropriate word and phrase, that his listeners marveled at his depth and fluency.

The aspirant to distinction in public speaking should accustom himself to memorizing notable passages from great orations and poems that have found an enduring place in literature. These both furnish and fertilize the mind, and after a few months' diligent practise give to the speaker an accumulation of working material that will be to him an inexhaustible source of power. Here, again, we have the testimony of many of the world's great orators, who acknowledge their indebtedness to the habit of studying, translating, or memorizing, the great speeches of their predecessors.

There is no power in a speaker superior to that of clear statement. Nothing else will atone for lack of it. Tact, felicitous phrase, poetical embellishment, and sonorous voice, are powerless to convince intelligent men without that substratum of common sense upon which lucid statement of fact has its foundation. There is a lamentable want of strong reasoning in most men. The mental machinery has not been finely adjusted to carry on its work with