brethren who are always ready and willing to read the Church of England service to their fellow-passengers. But, failing such a cleric, the prayers and lessons are habitually read either by the captain, the purser, or the surgeon; and few passengers can have crossed the Atlantic frequently without wishing that it was their lot oftener to hear such readers as some among the captains of the Cunard Line. It would be invidious to mention the names of several who are still in command of one or other of these magnificent vessels. But no jealousies will be aroused when we say that Captain Judkins, who, having long been Commodore of the Line, has now retired from active duty, was in the habit of reading the service upon the Sundays that he passed at sea with a dignity and impressiveness to which not many clergymen can lay claim. With the 'Union Jack' folded across the desk which held the Bible and Prayer Book, and himself the impersonation of a stout British sailor, Captain Judkins has unconsciously touched many a heart when, in the midst of an Atlantic gale, he has given utterance to one or more of the prayers prescribed by the Church of England 'to be read at sea.' It is in scenes such as this that a reflective mind is led to meditate upon the opportunities for effective delivery which are within the reach of every clergyman, whether by sea or land, and of which too often but little use is made. There can be no more effectual stimulant for those who are permitted to perform holy service upon each recurrent Sunday in every quarter of the globe than to remember that it is impossible for them to know whom they may have among their audience, and that the manner and style of their accent and delivery will often touch hearts too dead to be reached by careless utterances and half-hearted monotony."

LECTURE II.

The Study of the English Language, viewed relatively in regard to other tongues-Importance of the Art of Delivery in Ancient Times-Causes suggested for its subsequent comparative neglect-The Subject viewed in reference to Public and Private Life— Quotation from the Rev. Canon Kingsley - The Rev. James Pycroft's "Twenty Years in the Church"-Popular Readings as an intellectual RecreationGood results that might be attained by these means-General summary of the subjects discussed in these Lectures.

N the introductory Public Lecture, which I gave on our opening night of the session, the remarks I addressed to you were directed principally to one object, viz., the endeavour to show how, in a free country like ours, with an unfettered Senate, withp rofessions such as the Church and the Bar, and with public meetings on all kinds of subjects, religious, political, and social, held all over the country, almost every day in the year, the art of public speaking and reading is continually being brought into requisition, and what necessity there existed for the proper study, practice, and cultivation of that art. I venture now to solicit your attention to some further remarks, which I may also term introductory, but to which the time I was limited on Tuesday last prevented me from adverting.

No one, I think, will deny that words, however appropriately selected, if spoken or read without due feeling and expression, are mere lifeless sounds that will scarcely affect the understanding of the hearer in general, and most assuredly will never awaken a single passion or emotion in the soul. Indeed I may well ask this question.-Even when we bend over the silent pages of an eloquent book, are not our minds excited and rendered alive to the full beauty and significance of the thoughts and language, only so far as we imagine the sentences rendered with an appropriate delivery? And when we come to consider language spoken or read aloud, I think we may properly ask if it is not essentially imperfect, unless accompanied by purity of intonation, distinct articulation, appropriate inflection and modulation of the voice, due observance of prosody and the great physiological law of poise, the right discrimination of degrees of emphasis, and, when suitable to the occasion, proper expression of countenance and gesture, so as to be able to communicate thoroughly to the mind of the hearer the full import of the words which form the sentences that are uttered?

LECT. II.] KING'S COLLEGE lectures oN ELOCUTION.

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It certainly seems to me that we are not so negligent in regard to the pronunciation of other languages as we are of our own. If we seek a French teacher, we endeavour to meet with one who not only knows his language grammatically, but speaks it with the purest Parisian accent: if we desire a German tutor, we prefer one from Hanover: if a Spanish instructor, one from Castile: while, as regards Italian, its beau ideal is considered to be the "lingua Toscana in bocca Romana." If all this attention be paid, and rightly paid, to the proper pronunciation of other tongues, why should we so much neglect the acquisition of the best delivery of our own? Surely the language of Shakespeare and Milton, the language which I am bold enough to say of all translations best conveys the sublimity and beauty of the Bible, the language of the Liturgies of the English Church, the language which has been used as the medium for the embodiment and the transmission of thoughts the most glorious and ennobling, by writers whose names will live whilst literature endures, -surely, I contend, a full comprehension by ourselves, and an effective rendering to others of such a language, deserves to be cultivated with all the care and attention we can bestow.

Before I proceed further, let me stop at this place to enquire, why it is that a science and art like Elocution-for I claim that it is both —and which in classical times was so highly valued, and on which such authorities as Demosthenes, Cicero, and Quinctilian, have set the stamp of approval, and urged in the strongest terms the importance of its study, should of late years have been comparatively disregarded as part of our education, and yet music, singing, drawing, and other accomplishments, have all received their due share of attention; and most properly so, for I should be the last person to undervalue the cultivation of any one art that tends to promote the grace and refinement of life, and advance the civilization of all ranks of society. But why is it that Elocution should have fallen from the position it occupied in other days and circumstances? Well, one reason, I believe, is to be found in the fact that the very word has been made a bugbear of, and has frightened away many excellent persons-persons of taste and refinement-from the pursuit of its study, through a completely erroneous interpretation of its meaning and character. Does not many a man entertain a sort of secret conviction, even if he does not openly express the opinion, that the study and practice of elocution must eventually lead to a pompous, bombastic, stilted and pedantic style- a style, in short, in which the palpably artificial reigns predominant over everything that is pure, simple, and natural ? Now, all that I can say is what I said in my Public Introductory Lecture -if elocution either meant, or, properly understood and taught, really tended to anything of the kind, I should be the last person to advocate its adoption in colleges, schools, or anywhere else. What my definition of elocution is, I gave you fully on the occasion to which I have just referred, and I hope it is sufficiently remembered by you not to need repetition now.

How strange it is, when we reflect on the power, the marvellous power, which spoken language has to excite the deepest and strongest feelings of our nature, that the cultivation of the art of its delivery, which once

received so much attention, should afterwards, and for so long a time, have been comparatively neglected! I said but a few minutes ago that we know how highly the art of rhetoric was estimated in ancient Greece: and Rome, and we need but point to the undying names which I then mentioned to show how the great orators of antiquity valued and studied the art of delivery. When the great orator of Greece said that the first, second, and last requisite to ensure success in the art of which he was so illustrious an example was action," it did not mean action in the narrow sense in which we are now accustomed to limit it-viz., to gesture "—but it meant all that we are wont to associate together in the word "delivery"-viz., voice, words, pronunciation, expression, and gesture. This was what the great orator meant when he uttered his famous dictum, "Action, action, action !"

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I have asked, how comes it that the art of delivery, or "elocution," should have fallen in after times into comparative neglect? May not this answer be given among others? The art which has revolutionised the world--the art of printing-was then unknown; and when there was no press to scatter far and wide over the land the winged words of thought, speech was then the only means by which the intellect of a nation could be stirred or its passions swayed. Consequently, the art of speech was studied by all who wished to influence their fellow men. Time and circumstance were alike favourable to its development, and its power was well understood and sedulously cultivated. But now we have, not only within all reasonable limits, a free press, but at the same time, what in other ages we had not, and what some other countries near us have not now, freedom of speech to express all our thoughts, views, and opinions socially, politically and morally; and I think the time is at hand when the power of speech may be made an influence in our land, and in all grades of society, second to none in importance. But it is not alone in crowded senates, churches, courts of justice, or popular assemblies, that I would advocate the study of elocution. Cicero most truly remarks, in his first book on oratory, that "address in speaking is highly ornamental and useful in private as well as in public life."

And surely what the great Roman said in his day is equally applicable to our own. For, let me ask, even supposing a young man has no present apparent likelihood of debating in parliament, of arguing before judges, or addressing juries at the bar, or of appealing on the most solemn subjects of all from the pulpit, does it therefore follow that he need bestow no trouble in learning to speak correctly, elegantly, and effectively his native language? Is it certain that he will never have occasion to make a speech or express his opinions at some public meeting? Will he never have occasion to read aloud some report of a religious, a philanthropic, or other society, or to read in the company of friends, or in the family circle, some speech or leading article from the newspaper, some chapter from a book, or some verses from a poem ? And what a difference will there be in the effect produced upon the audience, and also on the reader or speaker himself, accordingly as this is done well or ill! Let those answer who have had opportunities of judging. We are most of us in the present day accustomed to cultivate

athletic exercises in some form or other, and well for us that we do. Parents send their sons to be taught drilling, dancing, fencing, and other exercises that tend to give strength, flexibility, ease and elegance to the movements of the limbs; and very excellent are such accomplishments in their way. But, after all, the limbs are portions of our frame less noble and characteristic of man than the tongue, and yet, while no gentleman who can afford it hesitates at expending time, and money too, in sending his son to the drilling, dancing or fencing master, how few comparatively send as systematically their children to the elocution master, to be taught the right use of that which is the crowning glory of mankind-the divine gift of speech.

More than a century ago an eminent writer on the art (Dr. Burgh) remarked that the delivery, manner, and address of a speaker are of the utmost importance, and that a just and pleasing style of delivering either our own compositions or those of others is far too much neglected among our countrymen. The charge is still in a great degree true, though I must say in the last few years I think there has decidedly been a change for the better, and there has been a growing desire to make the art I advocate a more prominent part of a gentleman's education than was the case some years ago. It is greatly to the honour and credit of this great college that it was the first among the eminent educational establishments of the metropolis to make the art of public reading and speaking a prominent feature in its regular course of instruction. Its importance has been felt, and now, at several institutions in London and the provinces that I could name, institutions for the education of young women as well as men, the art of reading aloud is one of the accomplishments regularly taught. I rejoice that this is so on every account, and particularly that the young of both sexes are now being systematically taught at these places to speak and read their own glorious native language clearly, elegantly, and effectively.

It is an art, indeed, well worthy the diligent study and practice of every lady and gentleman in the land. I may mention, as a proof of the estimation in which good reading, simply as a social accomplishment, is held in some of the highest circles of society, that I have in the last few years been present at many literary and musical "soirées," where the reader has contributed equally with the musician and the vocalist to the intellectual enjoyment of the evening.

It is to me, therefore, a source of great gratification to find that at nearly all our literary institutions elocution classes are increasing and yearly becoming more and more popular, and I earnestly hope that their good influence will be felt far and wide, and extend even to societies of a humbler social grade, such as working men's clubs and institutes; for a real pleasure, a thoroughly pure enjoyment, such as good reading is, ought not to be the exclusive privilege of any one class, but should extend to all, be cultivated by all, and appreciated by all.

It has been well said, if in our ideas of the Fine Arts we include all those embellishments of civilized life which combine in a high degree the gratification of a refined taste with the exercise of an enlightened intellect, then must reading aloud hold a prominent place amongst those arts which impart a charm to social intercourse and purify the