strive to reach. This must be derived mainly from the illustrations of the
teacher, or from listening to the speaking of an accomplished orator. No
mere description is adequate to convey it to the learner without the aid of
the living voice. And yet, such a quaint and charming description of both
the negative and positive qualities of a good voice, as the following, from
a colloquy between Professor Wilson and the Ettrick Shepherd, is worth
studying:--

NORTH. (Professor Wilson)

"James, I love to hear your voice. An Esquimaux would feel
himself getting civilized under it for there's sense in the very
sound. A man's character speaks in his voice, even more than in
his words. These he may utter by rote, but his 'voice is the man
for a' that,' and betrays or divulges his peculiar nature. Do you
like my voice, James? I hope you do."


Shepherd. (James Hogg.)

"I wad ha'e kent it, Mr. North, on the tower o' Babel, on the day
o' the great hubbub. I think Socrates maun ha'e had just sic a
voice--ye canna weel ca 't sweet, for it is ower intellectual for
that--ye canna ca 't saft, for even in its aigh notes there's a
sort o' birr, a sort o' dirl that betokens power--ye canna ca 't
hairsh, for angry as ye may be at times, it's aye in tune frae
the fineness o' your ear for music--ye canna ca 't sherp, for
it's aye sae nat'ral--and flett it cud never be, gin you were
even gi'en ower by the doctors. It's maist the only voice I ever
heard, that I can say is at ance persuawsive and commanding--you