Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1860-09-21
Read Aloud.

Reading aloud is one of those exercises
which combines mental and muscular effort,
and hence has double advantage. 1t is an
accomplishments which may :be cultivated
alone, perhaps better alonc,r than under q
teacher, for then 4 naturainess of intonation
viii be acquired from instinct rather than
from art; the most that Is required being that
the person ,practicing should make an effort
to command the mind Of the author, the sense
of the subject. ~ = q Az@' 't',M
To read aloud we'll, q person should not
only understand the subject, but should hear
his own voice, and feel within him that every
syllable was distinctly enunciated, while there
is an instinct presiding which modulates the
voice to the number and distance of the hear
ers. Every public speaker ought to be able
to tell whether he is indistnctly heard by the
farthest auditor in the room; If he is not, it
is from want Of proper judgment and OBJ
servation. IL -.... a..4........-.
Reading aloud helps develop the lungs just
rs singing does, II properly performed. The
effect is to induce the drawing Of long
breath every once in a while, oftener and
deeper than of reading without enunciating.
These deep inhalations never fail to develop
the capacity Of the lungs in direct proportion
to their practice. og 20 BAN gg1iaqs
Commons consumption begins uniformly
with imperfect, insufficient breathing; it is
| the Characteristic Of the disease that the
breath becomes shorter and shorter through
weary months, down to the close of life, and
whatever counteracts that short breathing,
whatever promotes deeper inspirations, is Gu
tative to that extent, inevitably and under all
circumstances Let any person make the
experiment by reading this page aloud, and
| in less than three minutes the instinct Of a
long breath will show itself This reading
aloud develops weak voice, and makes il
sonorous 1t has great efficiency, also, in
making the tones clear and distinct, freeing
them from that annoying hoarseness which
the unaccustomed reader exhibits before ht
has gone half page, when he has to stop and
hem, and clear away, to the confusion o
himself as much as that of the subject. .ru
This reading aloud, when properly done
has Il great agency in inducing vocal power
Oh the same principle that all muscles ART
strengthened by exercise, those Of voice max
ing organs being no exception to the general
rule. Hence, in many cases, absolute silence
diminishes the vocal power, just as the pro
tractcd non-usc Of the arm of the Hindoo dev
otee at length paralyzes it forever. The gen
cial plan, in appropriate cases, is to read
aloud in conversational tone thrice day
for minute or two, or three at a time, in
creasing minute every other bay, until hall
an hour is thus spent at time, thrice day
which is to be continued until the desired OBJ
ject is accomplished. Managed thus there il
safety and efficiency as a uniform result.
As means, then, Of health, Of avcrtine
consumption, of being universal and enter
tanning company, as a means of showing the
quality Of the mind, let reading aloud be con
sidcrcd an accomplishment far more indis
pensable than that Of smattcring French, lisp
ing Italian, or growing Dutch, or dancing
cotillions, gallopades, polkas, and quadrilles
Halls Journal Of Health. 4 &c..