But the printed lines show the author to have written them,

"Twas William Willis, if you please,

I saw him kiss Susanna Pease.

The sound of th is formed by pressing the tip of the tongue against the edges of the upper teeth and forcing either breath or voice between the tongue and the teeth. It is a breath sound in such words as think, and a voice sound in such words as thine. In order to differentiate between the two sounds of th, practice on the following:

(Breath sound)-Think thoughts.
(Voice sound) - This, then, is thine.

The sound of s is produced by sending breath between the tongue and the roof of the mouth, the sides of the tongue pressing against the sides of the hard palate and the back teeth, the tip of the tongue suspended between the two sets of teeth, not touching either. It is a hissing sound. Practice on the following:

Speak sounds, said Sarah

After you have clearly differentiated between the sounds of th and s, exercise on these lines:

Think thoughts and speak sounds.
This, then, is thine, said Sarah.

Bad Breathing the Fault
of Most Defective Speech

From what I have here written it will be perceived that I consider indifferent breathing responsible for most of the vocal and speech defects; and because I hold that correct breathing is of so much importance, I shall here reiterate what I stated in former chapters on the subject of breathing, and enlarge on some phases of it.

Let us first endeavor to understand the breathing mechanism. The lungs are the all important organs of respiration, as their expansion permits the air to enter the different lobes and their contraction forces the breath out of them. The efficiency of the action of the lungs depends on the degree of their expansion and contraction. The lungs are two in number, the right and the left; the right lung possesses three lobes and the left lung two. They are shaped like a pear, smaller at the top than at the bottom. The lower lobes are capable of holding almost two-thirds of the air that the entire lungs can contain. The lungs do not work from any power that is within themselves, but they are acted upon by several sets of muscles known as the pectoral, costal, intercostal, dorsal, abdominal and diaphragm. Of all these muscles, so far as breathing is concerned, the diaphragm is the most important.

Learn to Use Your Diaphragm

The diaphragm is a long, broad, strong muscle, extending through the body from the floating ribs in the front to the spinal column in the back, and from one side of the body to the other. It separates the chest from the abdomen, forming the floor of the former and the roof of the latter. It is arched, being convex on the upper side and concave on the lower. The lungs rest upon the diaphragm, this being the only breathing muscle that comes in direct contact with them. The diaphragm moves little of its own accord, but when acted upon by other muscles, particularly those of the abdomen, it is capable of falling and rising to a considerable degree. When the diaphragm is lowered the pressure is taken from the lower lobes of the lungs and the air is permitted to enter them, and when it is raised the pressure is applied to the base of the lungs and the breath is forced out. The abdominal muscles in the front and the dorsal muscles in the back regulate the action of the diaphragm, causing it to move downward as they move outward and upward as they move inward.

By employing the diaphragm one may inflate the lungs from bottom to top, thus using all the lobes of the lungs; and by exercising them properly they are kept in a strong and healthy state, the voice is controlled, and the whole human machine nourished, purified and regulated. Diaphragmatic breathing is one

of the most essential and efficient means the human being possesses for promoting health and strength of body, voice and mind.

Master diaphragmatic breathing and you will find that many afflictions that now beset you

Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

Longfellow.

CHAPTER VII

THE INFLUENCE OF VOCAL TONE

The Effect Different Voices Have

on the Minds of Listeners

LL living things vibrate and pulsate with an

A energy that in different things and creatures is

expressed in different terms.

Speech is the one great faculty that differentiates the human from the brute, and enables man to commune intimately with his fellow. Were it not for vibration there could not be speech, as speech is first breath, then voice, which is produced by the breath acting on the vocal cords and causing them to vibrate, and then becomes speech only by the organs of articulation molding the voice into different forms and shapes which are termed sounds. These sounds are then joined together and formed into words, the words are arranged to represent thoughts, and thus we have speech.

Speech Natural Through Centuries of Patient Effort That Have Gone Before It

Here again may be heard the cry of the naturalist, who exclaims, "Oh, it is perfectly natural for one