of this valuable addition to the apparatus of the gymnasium are shown in Fig. 15. Two bars, made of deal, ash, or any light wood, rounded so as to be readily grasped by the hand, and from six to eight feet in length, are fixed on strong upright supports, either firmly embedded in the ground, or standing on a solid frame like that represented in the illustration. The distance between the bars is generally about a foot and a half, or such that the shoulders of the individual practising may readily pass between them. The bars should also be about the height of the shoulders from the ground. The gymnast starts from one of the crosspieces which are seen at either end of the figure. Placing the Fig. 15. must be practised cautiously, and the movement gradually increased according to the strength and skill of the beginner. The expert are able to swing so high, simply grasping the bars in the ordinary manner, that the feet in the forward movement rise above the level of the head, and in the backward progression the body is brought almost into the perpendicular position, the head being nearly level with the hands. But we do not advise any one who practises for health's sake alone to attempt this, although he may see others perform it. Here we must note, once for all, that in these and other exercises the young gymnast must keep steadily before him the object with which he set out, namely, to develop and strengthen the physical powers, thereby securing health and activity; and not to equal or exceed some other and perhaps more expert gymnast or gymnasts in the performance of striking feats. If this is not borne in mind, and the practice regulated accordingly, it is not only possible, but certain, that more harm than good will result to the learner from the usual routine of either a public or a private gymnasium. 7. The following hands firmly is the method of accomplishing the You start from a standing position, and, grasping the bars firmly, bring the legs forward and upward with a spring, on the bars, he springs up into the position illustrated in Fig. 16. This is known as the rest. The heels should be close together, the toes turned out, the head erect, and the chest thrown forward. The hands may be with the knuckles outward, as in the cut, or with this grasp reversed; or, again, with the palms and fingers extended flat on the tops of the bars; according to convenience or inclination in executing the different movements. From this position you may (1) travel along the bars from end to end by the movement of the hands. Keep the legs still, and let the progressive movements of the arms be equal on either side. Do this first with the ordinary, and then with the reversed grasp. 2. From the rest, give a rapid turn, releasing one hand and bringing it to the same bar that is held by the other. This is called facing, and after performing the movement you may travel as before, but grasping the one bar only. Fig. 16. 3. Other rests are the rest on the fore-arms, in which they are placed flat along the top of the bar; and the drop rest, in which the weight is thrown upon the hands, while the body sinks partially down, the elbows being raised above the shoulders. 4. Raising the legs should be practised in the following manner. With a firm grasp in the rest, begin by swinging them slowly backwards and forwards, to acquire freedom of action. Then raise first one and next the other alternately. Lastly, raise them gradually in front of you, keeping them close together and stiffly extended, and endeavour to bring them so high that they form a straight line parallel to the line of the bars, but two or three inches higher, while the body is, as it were, in a sitting position. This will try your muscles, and you must not expect to do it at the first or the second attempt, but you will derive benefit in practising it until you are able to accomplish it with ease. When you have succeeded, open the legs, moving them from side to side, and still keeping them on a perfect level. 5. Next, from the rest, raise the legs the reverse way-i.e., backwards. With a gradual movement this will not be so easy t exercise; but with a swinging motion the body may to the position shown in Fig. 17. Again open the hout, as in swimming. exercise brings us to the actual swing, which Fig. 17. This we until the body hangs perfectly level below the bars. will call the first stage of the turn; and each stage should be well practised before proceeding to the next. Now, from this horizontal position, the weight resting upon the hands, carry the legs upward until the body resumes the perpendicular, but with the head downmost; thus half the circle is described. Then bring the legs downward, the reverse way from the previous movement, until the body again hangs horizontally, but the face directed towards the ground. This is the third stage of the turn, which will be completed by a light spring downwards, bending the knees as the feet touch the earth. The quick and regular performance of each of these movements in succession constitutes the perfect turn backwards, which will not be difficult after the preliminary exercises have been thoroughly mastered. The turn over forwards is accomplished by reversing these movements, the legs being thrown behind you in starting. 8. To perform the roll you sit astride the bars, bend the body forwards until the head is between them, the arms being placed outside, and then throw the legs upward, and turn quickly over, legs outside, which brings you back to the straddling position. This may be done again and again, until you have traversed the length of the bars, when you may reverse the roll and go back to the other end; but for the backward roll let the forearms rest upon the bars, which should be grasped firmly behind you. legs between the bars in the descent, let the feet rest on them, and the body hang from the bars by the hands and feet in the manner shown in the illustration. 10. To vault out of the bars, raise the legs slightly above them, and then turn and jump downwards cleanly to the ground, either over the right bar or the left, throwing the weight upon the arm, and not touching the bar with the body as you descend. The light vault downward from the rest at the end of the bars will need no explanation. LESSONS IN BOTANY.-VIII. of from the Greek Teraλov (pronounced pet'-a-lon) a leaf, and the whole five collectively are termed the corolia, from the Latin corolla, a diminutive of corona, a crown or garland. These portions of this, or any other flower, are not its reproductive portions, but are merely to be regarded as the materials of little painted houses in which the gentlemen and ladies dwell. The term perianth, from the Greek Tept (peri), around, and aveos (an'-thos), a flower, is frequently given to the calyx and the corolla of a flower taken collectively, on account of the fructifying portions of a flower being surrounded by these parts. Proceeding still with our examination, we next arrive at many SECTION XV.-PARTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL FLOWER. HAVING already described the chief arrangement which flowers assume, we may now proceed to examine the parts of which flowers themselves are made up. For the purpose of our first examination it, will be well to select a flower in which the various parts are all fully developed; for this co-existence of all the parts necessary to constitute a perfect flower is not invariable; in certain species one or more of these parts are wanting, and conversely in certain species the parts are redundant. Thus botanical productions are very apt to assume monstrous appearances, sometimes by the suppression of organs, at other times by their change, or their presence in increased numbers. In point of fact, the greater number garden flowers are, botanically speaking, monsters, care and cultivation having succeeded in effecting remarkable changes. They are beautiful for a mere lover of flowers to look at, and often the objects of much solicitude, but quite unfit for the purpose of being the subjects of a young botanist's first investigations. Thus, how striking is the difference between the wild and cultivated roses. The flower-leaves of the former are thin and meagre, the flowerleaves of the latter thick and tightly packed. Yet the additional flower-leaves, called petals, of the garden rose are only modifications of the stamens, or little threadlike growths, of the wild flower. In saying, therefore, that we will commence our study of the parts of a flower by examining a perfect specimen, 75, we mean the perfection of nature, not the perfection of the gardener. The reader cannot do better than select whorls or circular rows of stamens (from the Latin stamen, a thread or fibre), or male parts of the flower. Our diagram (Fig. 77) represents one of them cut off. Lastly, we arrive at several whorls of carpels, from the Greek καρπος (kar-pos) fruit, or pistils, from the Latin pistillum, a pounder, and so called from their likeness to the pestle used by druggists (Fig. 78), each consisting of the ovary, or seed-vessel (from the Latin ovum, an egg), below; and terminating above in what is called the stigma, from the Latin stigma, a mark or brand, the intermediate portion being called the style, from the Latin stylus, an iron pen used for writing on tablets by the Ro mans. Let the reader, then, not fail to remember that the stamens are the male parts of plants, and the carpels or pistils are the female parts. The carpels or pistils we have already stated to be each composed of ovary below, style in the middle, and stigma above. Each stamen is also divided into a filament CALYX OF RANUNCULUS. 76. COROLLA OF RANUNCULUS. 77. STAMEN OF RANUNCULUS, or thread-like portion, a ranunculus or buttercup as the subject of his first floral On examining this flower it will be seen to consist of several circular rows of organs, or whorls, as they are termed. Commencing externally, we first meet with the whorl (Fig. 75), made up of five parts coloured greenish-yellow. These five parts collectively form what is termed the calyx, from the Greek a (pronounced ka-lux), a husk, or shell, and each individual of the five parts is termed a sepal, said by Professor Henslow to be derived from a Latin word sepalum, a leaf, obtained by substituting (s) for (p) in the Greek word Teтaλov, which also means a leaf, Proceeding with our dissection, we next arrive at the bright yellow flower-leaves (Fig 76), each of which is termed a petal, VOL. L the stigma, causes the ovary to expand, the fruit to ripen, and SECTION XVI.-DIFFERENT FORMS WHICH THE CALYX AND THE COROLLA MAY ASSUME. First of all, as to the calyx. In our example-the buttercup -we have seen it to consist of five separate portions, and to be coloured yellowish-green; but the calyx is not always thus, 16 being subject to modification both as to shape and to colour. In the pimpernel (Fig. 79) the calyx is divided into five separate portions, as we find it in the buttercup. Hence in these cases it is said to be quinquepartite, from the Latin quinque, five. In the gentian tribe it is no longer divided into five distinct sepals, but the calyx displays five clefts or fissures. Hence in this example it is said, in botanical language, to be a fissured or fissile calyx, and the number of fissures happening to be five, the term quinquefid, or quinquefissile (from the Latin quinque, five, and fissus, a part of the verb findo, to cleave or split), is applied to the calyx (Fig 80). In the lychnis tribe there is a calyx in which the rudiments only of these fissures are apparent, giving rise to the appearance of five teeth; hence such a calyx is said to be quinquedentate (Latin dens, a tooth). The calyx is termed regular when the sepals of which it is composed, whether equal or unequal, form a symmetrical whorl, as in the pimpernel (Fig 79); but irregular when the sepals do not form a symmetrical whorl, as in the dead-nettle (Fig. 81). The calyx is said to be free when it is not attached to the pistil, adherent (from the Latin ad, to, and hæreo, to stick to) when it is partly or wholly consolidated with the pistil. Although in our example, the buttercup, and in most other examples, the calyx is easily recognisable, yet in certain other flowers it grows so tightly to the ovary, that its discovery is rather more difficult. In the madder (Fig. 82), the calyx seems to have altogether disappeared, so tightly has it become attached; in the sunflower (Fig. 83) the calyx adheres to the ovary, which it quite surrounds, but eventually becoming free, separates in thread-like prolongations. In each of the little florets of the dandelion (Fig. 84) the calyx is at first attached, but separated eventually in the form of an aigrette or plume. In the centranthus (Fig. 85) the calyx, first adherent, separates in various feathery branches. The real calyx is made up of an association of sepals; but a sort of imitation calyx, called the involucrum, a term which has been already explained, is made up of bracts, those little modified leaves which we have already spoken of as being often found on the peduncles or flower-stalks. The extra calyx or calycule on the strawberry flower (Fig. 86) is made up of these. The acorncup (Fig. 87) and the spiny involucrum of the chestnut (Fig. 88) are also different modifications of the same thing. READING AND ELOCUTION.-VIII. ANALYSIS OF THE VOICE. IF we observe attentively the voice of a good reader or speaker, The analysis of the voice, for the purposes of instruction and : 6. Appropriate Pauses. 7. Right Emphasis. 8. Correct" Inflections." This property of voice is exemplified in that ringing fulness of tone, which belongs to the utterance of animated and earnest feeling, when unobstructed by false habit. It is natural and habitual in childhood; it is exhibited in all good singing, and in the properly cultivated style of public reading and speaking. To obtain roundness and fulness of voice, it is exceedingly important that the student observe the following suggestions. Be attentive to the position of the body. No person can produce a full, well-formed sound of the voice, in a lounging or stooping posture. The attitude of the body required for the proper use of the voice is that of being perfectly upright, without rigidness. The head must never be permitted to droop; it should be held perfectly erect. The back must be kept straight, and the shoulders pressed backward and downward. The chest must be well expanded, raised, and projected; so as to make it as roomy as possible, in order to obtain full breath and full voice. Breathe freely and deeply; keep up an easy fulness of breath, without overdoing the capacity of your lungs. Make your utterance vigorous and full, by giving free play to the muscles situated below the bony part of the trunk; these should move energetically, in order to drive the breath upward with due force, and thus give body to the sounds of the voice. Keep the throat freely open, by free opening of the mouth, so as to give capaciousness and rotundity to every sound. A round voice can never proceed from a half-shut mouth. The large and full effect of vocal sound, produced by the due observance of the preceding directions, forms what is called by great authorities in elocution, the "orotund" (round, or, literally, round-mouthed) voice, which is considered the ample style of oratory, or public reading, in contrast with the limited utterance of private conversation. The attitude of body, and the position and action of the organs, demanded by "orotund" utterance, is likewise highly favourable to health and to easy use of the voice; while stooping and lounging postures, & sunken chest, and drooping head, tend both to suppress the voice and injure the organs, besides impairing the health. Practice in the style of vehement declamation, is the best means of securing a round and full tone. The following exercise should be repeatedly practised, with the attention closely directed to the management of the organs, in the manner which has just been described, as producing the "orotund," or resonant quality of voice. Exercise on the "Orotund." Who is the man that, in addition to the disgraces and mischiefs of the war, has dared to authorise, and associate with our arms, the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the savage?-to call into civilised alliance the wild and inhuman inhabitant of the woods ?-to delegate to the merciless Indian the defence of disputed rights, and to wage the horrors of this barbarous war against our brethren ?-My lords, we are called upon as members of this house, as men, as Christians, to lordships, and upon every order of men in the state, to stamp upon protest against such horrible barbarity!-I solemnly call upon your this infamous procedure the indelible stigma of the public abhor This property of voice consists in maintaining an undisturbed liquid stream of sound, resembling, to the ear, the effect produced on the eye by the flow of a clear and perfectly transof voice, on a free, upright, and unembarrassed attitude of the parent stream of water. It depends, like every other excellence body, the head erect, the chest expanded. It implies natural and tranquil respiration (breathing); full and deep "inspiration" (inhaling, or drawing in the breath); and gentle "expiration" (giving forth the breath); a true, and firm, but moderate exercise of the "larynx" (or upper part of the throat); and a careful avoiding of every motion that produces a jarring, harsh, or grating sound. "Pure" tone is free from (1) the heavy and hollow note of the chest; (2) the "guttural," choked, stifled, or hard sound of the swollen and compressed throat; (3) the hoarse, husky, "harsh," ," "reedy," and grating style, which comes from too forcible "expiration," and too wide opening of the throat; (4) the nasal twang, which is caused by forcing the breath against the nasal passage, and, at the same time, partially closing it; (5) the wiry, or false ring of the voice, which unites the guttural and the nasal tones; (6) the affected mincing voice of the mouth, which is caused by not allowing the due proportion of breath to escape through the nose. The natural, smooth, and pure tone of the voice, as exhibited in the vivid utterance natural to healthy childhood, to good vocal music, or to appropriate public speaking, avoids every effect arising from an undue preponderance, or excess, in the action of the muscles of the chest, of the throat, or of any other organ, and, at the same time, secures all the good qualities resulting from the just and well-proportioned exercise of each. A true and smooth utterance derives resonance from the chest, firmness from the throat, and clearness from the head and mouth. Without these qualities, it is impossible to give right effect to the beauty and grandeur of noble sentiments, whether expressed in prose or in verse. Childhood and youth are the favourable seasons for acquiring and fixing, in permanent possession, the good qualities of agreeable and effective utterance. The self-taught cannot exert too much vigilance, nor take too much pains, to avoid the encroachments of faulty habit in this important requisite to a good elocution. The subjoined exercise should be frequently and attentively practised, with a view to avoid every sound which mars the purity of the tone, or hinders a perfect smoothness of voice. Exercise in Smoothness and " Purity" of Voice. No sooner had the Almighty ceased, but all The multitude of angels, with a shout, Loud as from numbers without number, sweet, As from blest voices uttering joy;-heaven rung With jubilee, and loud hosannas filled The eternal regions;-lowly reverent, Towards either throne they bow; and to the ground, The various passions and emotions of the soul are, to a great extent, indicated by the "quality" of the voice. Thus, the malignant and all excessive emotions, as, anger, hatred, revenge, fear, and horror, are remarkable for "guttural quality," and strong "aspiration," or "expiration," accompanying the vocal sound, and forming "impure tone; substituting a "harsh,' husky, aspirated utterance, for the "orotund," or the " pure tone; while pathos, serenity, love, joy, courage, take a soft and smooth "oral," or head tone, perfectly pure, or swelling into "orotund." Awe, solemnity, reverence, and melancholy, take a deep" pectoral" murmur; the voice resounding, as it were, in the cavity of the chest, but still keeping perfectly "pure in tone, or expanding into full "orotund." " The young student cannot be too deeply impressed with the importance of cultivating early a pure and smooth utterance. The excessively deep "pectoral" tone sounds hollow and sepulchral; the "guttural" tone is coarse, and harsh, and grating to the ear; the nasal" tone is ludicrous; and the combination of "guttural" and "nasal" tone is repulsive and extremely disagreeable. Some speakers, through excessive negligence, allow themselves to combine the "pectoral," "guttural," and "nasal" tones in one sound, for which the word grunt is the only approximate designation that can be found. Affectation or false taste, on the other hand, induces some speakers to assume an extra fine, or double-distilled, "oral" tone, which minces every word in the mouth, as if the breast had no part to perform in human utterance. The tones of serious, serene, cheerful, and kindly feeling, are nature's genuine standard of agreeable voice, as is evinced in the utterance of healthy and happy childhood. But prevalent neglect permits these to be lost in the habitual tones of boys and girls, men and women. Faithful advisers may be of much service to young students in this particular. 3.-Versatility or Pliancy of Voice signifies that power of easy and instant adaptation, by which it takes on the appropriate utterance of every emotion which occurs in the reading or speaking of a piece characterised by varied feeling or intense passion. To acquire this invaluable property of voice, the most useful course of practice is the repeated reading or reciting of passages marked by striking contrasts of tone, as loud or soft, high or low, fast or slow. The following exercises should be repeated till the student can give them in succession, with perfect adaptation of voice in each case, and with instantaneous precision of effect. Exercises for Versatility or Pliancy of Voice. Very Loud. And dar'st thou, then, To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall? And hop'st thou hence unscathed to go? Up, drawbridge, groom! What! warder, ho! Very Soft. I've seen the moon climb the mountain's brow, Very Low. I had a dream, which was not all a dream, I awoke-where was I?-Do I see A human face look down on me? Do these limbs on a couch repose? Is this a chamber where I lie ? Very Slow. Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old, like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same; and Thy years shall have no end.. Very Quick. I am the Rider of the wind, The Stirrer of the storm! The hurricane I left behind Is yet with lightning warm ;— The proper pitch of the voice, when no peculiar emotion demands high or low notes, is-for the purposes of ordinary reading or speaking a little below the habitual note of conversation, for the person who reads or speaks. Public discourse, being usually on graver subjects and occasions than mere private communication, naturally and properly adopts this level. But, through mistake or inadvertency, we sometimes hear persons read and speak on too low a key for the easy and expressive use of the voice, and sometimes, on the other hand, on a key too high for convenient or agreeable utterance. The following sentences should be repeated till the note on which they are pitched is distinctly recognised, and perfectly remembered, so as to become a key to all similar passages. Exercise on Middle Pitch. In every period of life, the acquisition of knowledge is one of the most pleasing employments of the human mind. But in youth, there are circumstances which make it productive of higher enjoyment. It is then that everything has the charm of novelty; that curiosity and fancy are awake, and that the heart swells with the anticipations of future eminence and utility. Contrast this pitch with that of the pieces before quoted, as examples of "high" and "low." d LESSONS IN PENMANSHIP.-XVI. IN our last lesson, in Copy-slip No. 52, we gave an example of the elementary looped stroke which enters into the composition of the letters j, y, and g, and, with a little modification, into the formation of the letter z. To make this new elementary stroke, a thick down-stroke must be commenced at the line a a, as in Copy-slip No. 57, for example, and carried downwards in a slanting direction towards the left. As the stroke approaches the line bb, the pressure on the pen must be lessened and gradually reduced until the thick stroke narrows into a hair yy y turned in an easy and flowing stroke. To show the necessity of this, the learner has only to turn the loop before reaching the line h h, when he will find that this imparts a stunted appearance to the stroke, or to any letter into whose composition it enters, which is far from satisfactory. To form the letter j, it is only necessary to place a dot above the elementary looped stroke that has just been described, on the line d d, which is, as it has been stated in a previous lesson (page 61), three-sixteenths of an inch above the line a a. In Copy-slip No. 54 the elementary strokes entering into the composition of the letters y and g are shown, the first of these COPY-SLIP NO. 54.-ELEMENTARY STROKES FORMING у AND g. Joy h line, which is turned at the line h h, and brought upwards over the line bb, in a direction slanting upwards towards the right, crossing the down-stroke in a graceful curve a little below the last-named line. The distance between the lines b b and hh should be exactly nine-sixteenths of an inch. The learner, on referring to Copy-slips No. 30 (page 133) and No. 39 (page 173) will see that letters carried below the line b b terminate on a line at the distance of seven-sixteenths of an inch below it, when the stroke below b b is of uniform thickness throughout, as in the letter p, or has a bottom-turn to the right, as in the letter q. In the formation, however, of looped letters, an eighth of an inch more is required to give space enough to admit of the loop being letters consisting of the top-and-bottom-turn and the elementary looped stroke, while the second is formed by a combination of this stroke and the letter o. In Copy-slips No. 55 and 56, the letters y and g are given, showing how the elementary strokes of which they are composed are joined together, while in Copy slip No. 57 an example is given of the method in which the letter j is joined to any letter that follows it, and the letter y to a letter that precedes it. The learner has now been taught how to make nineteen out of the twenty-six letters of the writing alphabet, and these we shall bring under his notice in a single lesson, after giving a few more examples for practice in writing letters looped below the line bb, and combining them with others. |