action of the reader, enable the imagination of the spectator to fill out the

scene.

In the first example from the "Christmas Carol," the action is purely symbolic and suggestive. The hands suggest the broad lines of action, which are actually performed by the limbs and the feet. In the example from stave three, and at the phrase "long life to him!" the right hand may be carried to the lips as if holding a glass of wine, but not necessarily touching the lips with the hand; then in uttering the phrases,-"A merry Christmas and a happy New Year!" the hand may be carried out and upward with a slight flourish; but the voice must express very positive sarcasm. A nearer touch of permissible realism can be given to this scene, by suggestively using the glass of water which usually is placed upon the table; but, even then, the action is symbolic and not genuinely realistic.

Oftentimes, the forms of action that symbolize the varying degrees of feeling in common life are almost identical with the suggestive action of the dramatic artist. This is the case in Act II., Scene 2, of Little Em'ly." So, too, in the passage from "As You Like It." All that is lacking is the chain itself. In "The Set of Turquoise," the symbolic action of Lara is very like the action of real life in similar circumstances. The voice and the gesture of the Page are legitimately symbolized by the reader as if he himself were suffering the violence of Lara, and struggling to free himself. In the passage from "Julius Cæsar," Act V., Scene 5, the action of Brutus, in stabbing himself, is almost identical with the movement one would make in killing himself with a short sword or a dagger. So, too, in Act VI., Scene 1, all that is lacking are the hilts and the mantle; the action is almost the same as it would be in real life. In the selection from "The Tempest," when Ferdinand extends his hand to Miranda, it is what an actual lover would do, and the reader may use the action. But, to differentiate the action of Miranda, whose hand is placed in that of Ferdinand, the reader may place his right palm in a hearty manner within the palm of his left hand, and clasp them so as to bring the ictus of the gesture upon the phrase, "with my heart in't."

2. The action in public reading is not only suggestive, it must be subordinate to the voice-which is, par excellence, the agent of expression.

3. The other agents of expression-countenance, attitude, and gesture— must be used with great economy, both in frequency, and in intensity of expression. Since gesture is the symbolical language of the emotions and not the emotions themselves, the frequency and the intensity must be regulated with the nicest artistic judgment. It is with reading as it is in acting and in oratory-too much action enfeebles delivery. From the nature of public reading, it is plain that the reader should use far less action in reading than in acting. The character of the action may be for the most part the same as in acting but less intense in delivery.

4. It is also evident that the external conditions of public reading create limitations in the physical expression of character. I refer to the personal restrictions of the reader, his dress, his relation to the desk, to his book or manuscript, and to imaginary persons upon the platform, etc. These limitations not only compel the reader to regard the suggestive character of action, its subordination to voice, and the economy of gesture, but the external conditions also make exacting demands upon the reader's sense of propriety and upon his power of adaptation of manner to his surroundings. His artistic tact and ingenuity must direct him to the choice of such symbols of feeling as will at the same time manifest the character, suggest the ideal situation to the minds of the spectators, and harmonize with the reader's personality and his immediate environment.

The reader's physical treatment of the affectionate tenderness of Othello toward Desdemona, which has been referred to, is a case in point. It would be both impossible and absurd fully to represent the action of the character

at either moment. Suppose, too, that some dramatic situation upon the stage required the actor to fall upon his knees in supplication. Shall the public reader, in rendering the same scene, fall upon his knees as the actor did? The question carries its own answer; it would be supremely ridiculous. A nice sense of propriety would lead the reader to select some other symbol of entreaty, which would at once realize the scene to the hearer's imagination and appropriately express the sentiment. It is plain that the reader must not attempt too much in the way of realism, or even artistic suggestion, in physical expression. The spectator most enjoys that dramatic interpretation in which his own imagination is active and sympathetic. In the public interpretation of the characters of the Bible, the only instrument of expression is the voice; and the voice should be modulated on the principle of suggestive expression, rather than upon realistic interpretation. Propriety, it must ever be remembered, is the cardinal principle of all art. All effects produced by the agents of expression must be subordinated to that which is true and beautiful, in relation to the internal nature of the ideal character and the external conditions of the artistic effort. How vastly important, then, the incessant cultivation of the artistic intellect!

Our general conclusion from the foregoing considerations is this: Since the public portrayal of character at the reading-desk is that of a subdued and modified form of personation that we call "interpretation," it is perfectly legitimate to employ the physical agents of expression; but they must be regulated by the principles of suggestiveness, subordination, economy, and propriety. The art of the actor is much like that of the painter, who employs all the resources of correct drawing and true perspective, of rich and varied coloring with its delicate lights and shades, to represent an object so as to impress the spectator with the sense of reality. The public reader's art is more like that of the artist-etcher, who translates form and color into black and white, and who is yet no copyist, but accomplishes his art with fidelity to truth and to beauty of impression, and with a technical excellence all his own.

DISCUSSION.

MR. UNDERHILL: I think I would prefer not to attempt any discussion of the paper. I can only regret that Mr. Churchill's paper was not read yesterday, when mine would have been unnecessary.

Let us consider voice to imitate

MRS. HELENA CRUMETT LEE: I want to say just one thing, which I thought of while Prof. Churchill was speaking, viz., that the technical agents of expression are like the brushes and the paints of the artist; and just as a reader depends upon his voice, so the artist depends upon his tube of paint, without which he could do nothing; and it seems to me that in the use either of the voice or of the tube of paint, it is always a matter of taste, a thorough mastery of technic being presupposed. this subject in two divisions: The first, the use of the other human voices. I think all of us have heard men readers, when im. personating a woman, pitch their voice so high as to convey the impression of superficiality. On the other hand, there are women readers who impersonate mer, and who, in giving men's voices, pitch their voices so low as to be almost unintelligible. The second division would be the use of the voice to imitate sounds other than those of human beings, as the Ghost in Hamlet," and the much disputed bird notes, which seem to me to have no place in well considered artistic interpretation. In both these divisions, unscientific teachers aim to produce results from imitation which should and can only come from long-continued and well practiced technic. To sum up the whole thing, it seems to me that the vocal methods of interpretation in imitation or suggestion should always be grounded upon a

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thoroughly understood and perfectly digested technic, which must be governed by perfect taste.

Mr. Pinkley called for remarks from Mr. George B. Williams.

GEORGE B. WILLIAMS: I do not think that I will be able to offer anything of real benefit to any of you here. However, I may be able to give a word in regard to my own ideas. To adapt oneself to circumstances is, I think, always necessary. President Hooper, of Brooklyn, said that the first requirement in a good public reader was a thorough knowledge of general literature. In addition to this statement, I think it is necessary for the artist to have a thorough knowledge of human nature; otherwise he is unable to know just how far to suggest; where to begin or where to leave off.

MR. HOLT: I should like to say something about the study of gesture. I think we hardly finished on Tuesday with that subject. I should like to know whether it is wise to give the descriptive part of the selection with gestures? Is it not dangerous to use too many gestures in the descriptive part that precedes the action of the piece? I find that many readers endeavor to be so particular about every minutia in the description, that when they come to action, the eye is already wearied, and there is also danger of mixing descriptive gesture with the action of the piece. I have found after some years of teaching, that in a long selection it is wise to cut out all gesture in the beginning; at least unless the introduction is very long. I divide it in this way: The introduction, action, and conclusion of a selection. In the introduction, if it is short, I leave out all gesture, though if it is a long introduction, it is wise to make a few, but as few as possible. I centre all the action and gesture together in the middle of the selection; treating the last part of the selection as in the introduction, if it is a conclusion. If there is neither introduction nor conclusion, then I would begin action at once.

PAPER BY ANNA RANDALL DIEHL.

With all due deference to the committee who prepared the questions for this Section, it seems to me that the three taken up individually for three successive mornings are all one, viz.: Shall we represent truly, or caricature, nature, and to what extent? If it is true that every mental state has its outward expression, and every movement that reveals the thoughtwhether by hand, foot, the upturned eye, the scornful lip or the dilated nostril-is a gesture, and that even tones and inflections are gestures of the voice, then prodigality and economy of gesture,-physical expression in character-reading and vocal imitation and suggestion are only different methods of expressing one and the same idea.

If by gestures we mean only the movements of the hand, the person who is prodigal in this respect will not be economical in attitudes of the feet and movements of the head. The nature of the individual, or the lack of knowledge in that individual, will not allow freedom here and restriction there, at the same time. The man who is a bombast with his hands will be a bombast with his legs and with his voice; he will probably be guilty of a prodigality in gesture (movements of the hands), he will overpose, and he will overimitate with the voice.

But the special form of the question for this morning is, "How Far Shall Public Readers Make Use of Vocal Imitations and Vocal Suggestions?" and we are requested to illustrate by the examples given upon the

program.

The first is a vivid bit of description from "David Copperfield," by Dickens. This example was caricatured by a gentleman yesterday, when Ham was shown with his hand to his forehead for concentrating his vision as he gazed over a smooth and placid sea to the horizon's edge, and on either side over the broad expanse of waters. This triple movement of

vision seemed to pitch the gazer forward and lurch him to either side. As the illustrator explained, there was an apparent indication of seasickness. "He was standing alone." Gathering himself together, after he had succeeded in getting steady on the feet, he convinced himself, by turning to look behind him and on either side, that this was absolutely true. No other human being was within his range of vision—he was certainly alone. "With the silence of suspended breath." This dangerous operation of holding respiration was necessarily of brief duration. But had the gentleman, or had he not, read the extract correctly? Was it Ham whose breath was suspended, or was it the sea? At all events, it was Ham who watched the storm before, and, as we were shown, the very sight appalled the man. He turned about and looked back to those who held the rope. Where were these people a moment before, when Ham saw, with the most scrutinizing vision, that he was alone? He then carried the rope around his waist, and with a deft movement tied it there. The question is: Would not Ham have taken the precaution to secure himself to the rope before he stepped into the water at all? As we might suppose, with a swimmer who throws himself upon a great retiring wave, he was swamped by the one that bounded after. We were shown the actual buffeting with the water and the wellnigh fatal effect of trying to swim with the mouth open, as a receptacle for taking in the briny fluid.

To take up the extract from Dickens seriously: It must be read with a blending of the subjective and the objective. The reader must make his audience see the man and what follows. This might be given without a single movement on the part of the reader, except vocal expression. Portia says: It were easier to teach twenty what were good to be done, than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.” Still, let us [The speaker read the selection.] I should doubtless read the extract in that manner at my own fireside, with a listener or two about me; but before a large public audience I should use greater effort by the judicious employment of action other than vocal, always remembering to let discretion be my tutor.

see.

Any method seems to me allowable by which we can hold our audiences in such a strong psychologic grasp that they see, with actual vision, not the reader (Heaven forfend), but what we wish to portray.

As to the last selection, the "Seven Ages," from "As You Like It:" Our best actors have always, in some measure, portrayed by suggestion the infant; the I-don't-want-to-go-to-school boy, creeping unwillingly thither; the lover, sentimentally impassioned, sighing over the verses written to his lady's eyebrows; the soldier, with convex front, chin depressed, head up, spoiling for a fight and reckless of danger even at the cannon's mouth; then the justice, not like our nervous little Duffy here in this city, who disposes of offenders with lightning speed, but the pompous judge, well-fed and full of wise authorities on law; the sixth stage, when old age has come with withering power; and at last, the second childhood and mere oblivion, "sans teeth, sans taste, sans everything."

To hear Janauschek recite this is worth much. She seems to act more than she does act. You go through every phase of life with her, subjectively, while you almost believe that it has been represented in a full objective manner. Modjeska says that she will not attempt anything in which she can not first see herself in the character.

In direct answer to the question under discussion, I would say: Employ vocal and all other imitation and suggestions just as far as your ability to do will warrant, and time, circumstance, and place will allow, always remembering that "all art is nature better understood.”

The remainder of the session was devoted to the reading and the discussion of Prof. Churchill's paper.

In the absence of the chairman of this Section, Prof. Thomas C. Trueblood presided. The chairman introduced Prof. William Hallock, of Columbia University.

PROF. HALLOCK'S REMARKS.*

The question which I suppose interests you very particularly, in reference to voice-production, is the question of articulation; and the question of articulation is simply a question of stopping and starting a tone. How it is stopped and how it is started, we have very little to do with. It is with the quality of the tone that we have mainly to deal, and that is the subject to which we have been devoting ourselves particularly, and, in connection therewith, the method of using the larynx.

All vowel-sounds, or all the sounds that are usually considered vowelsounds, i.e., any sound that can be produced continuously without alteration, has a certain quality. We call a vowel the character of the tone. You may call it color, or feeling, or anything that you please. It is something that distinguishes one tone from another, when the fundamental pitch is the same. It applies to human voices, to musical instruments and to all the ranges of the sources of sound.

Now, what is it that is the controlling feature in that quality? It is not the simple rate of vibration of what is known as the fundamental pitch of the tone, because that is always the same. You all use the same pitch. It is the other tones, the harmonics, that are associated with that fundamental tone.

You have musical instruments broadly classified as those with "harmonic timbre," and instruments that are "inharmonic." For example, a free reed has an inharmonic timbre; a membrane has an inharmonic timbre; i.e., its overtones are not in pure harmony with the fundamental. The higher overtones of the string are not in harmony with the fundamental, but the lower ones are.

We have the fundamental [illustrated on a string]. Then that string can vibrate in two halves, breaking up in the centre, giving the octave; or in thirds, giving the fifth above the octave; or in fifths, giving the major third above the double octave. Then comes the sixth and the seventh; then the eighth, the third octave. That far, with the exception of the seventh, we know to be in pure harmony. The tenth is again pure harmony, and the twelfth and the sixteenth. The seventh is a "harmonic" that is not perfectly harmonious with the fundamental. The ninth is still worse, and as they get higher up, they get closer together and more discordant. [Illustrated.] If you bow the string at the end [illustrating], you get one character of tone, and near the middle, an altogether different tone.

The fundamental laws of mechanics which control the strings are very simple, but absolutely immutable. It is simply that when you bow near

*Prof. Hallock's remarks were a discussion of the paper by Dr. Floyd S. Muckey on "The Science of Voice-Production," published in our August, 1897, No.