should never reach up to a tone, but should seem to alight upon it from
above, as a bird alights on the branch of a tree. The mind must never lose
sight of the result--the ideal aimed at. The knowledge of processes leads
us to a right conception of aims, and enables us to judge of their
correctness. We should know what processes are normal (natural and
healthful) and what objects of thought will induce them.

While taking the above exercise no effort should be made in the throat.
The voice should seem to find its way without effort. The tone should not
be loud or sharp.

If the student finds it difficult to produce the tone alone, some word
ending in _ing_ should be practised, as _ring-ring-ring-ng_.


FORMING OF ELEMENTS

_First Exercise_. Start the humming tone as indicated in the first
lesson, and maintain the same focus while forming certain elements. Take
the syllable _n-o-m_, allowing no break while going from _n_, the nares
sound, to the vowel sound of _o_, and returning to the nares sound of
_m_. This is perhaps the best element to begin upon, because of its
definiteness, but the same principle can be applied to other elements
of speech, as _Most-men-want-poise-and-more- royal-margin_. Form each
syllable with the utmost care. Concentrate the mind upon the ideal sound.
First be sure that the pronunciation is accurately conceived. Then
enunciate clearly and try each time to make the form more perfect. The
principle of thinking is the same as that involved in striving to make a
perfect circle, or to execute any figure with more and more beauty. The
effort of the mind will bring the result, if the conception of the element