The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-05-18
ELOCUTIOYARY ASPIRANTS.
Queer Persons Who Think They Posses
Dramatic Talent.
From the New York SUM-

TFrom the New York SUM-
''Ihere are some queer persons who
try to learn elocution, q well-spcken
professor said.
'It is really surprising to see with
what persistence those who are positively
disqualified Will strive to acquire the de-
clamatory art. Public school education
is responsible for a good deal of this.
Take class of college boys; they are al
most men. Their tastes and capacities
are thoroughly marked 1t is obvious
that some of them have no aptitude for
elocUtion. Their voices are Inadequate;
their action is irretrievably bad. Yet the
curriculum requires that they should de-
claim regularly. No amount of natural
disqualification relieves them from this
duty. The result is that they only fur
nish sport for their companions, and 20
through the college course with only a
perfunctOry performance of this part of
their duties. OF course, this in direct
conflict with the most advanced thought
on the subject of education. Both COM
mon sense and science dictate that it is
q waste of time to try to teach some
persons some things. Vast sums of
money and long periods of time might
be saved by refraining from attempts to
perform the impossible in teaching.
''But there are some funny instances
Of persons of more mature years trying
to learn elOcutiOn. Persons who have
had little or no education in school, who
can neither read nor pronounce, towhom
proper name is an insurmOuntable OBJ
stacle and word beyond the common
place a rubicon, think they can be fitted
to shine in elOcution. Those persons
always trip up on pronunciation. They
make the most ludicrOus blundeTs with
out the faintest conception why they are
laughed at. You may say that we ought
not to try to teach such persons. You
might as well say that dry goods mer-
chant should not sell unbecoming goods.
Here is a young fellow who is doing
moderately well in business. He goes
into company and finds that elocntion is
all the rage. He sees others brought into
prominence by readings and recita-
tons. He thinks that he can make
his mark, and he comes to me or some
other professor to get instruction. had
a young grocer who took a notion to read
Shakespearean pieces. He tripped over
every unusual word he stumbled over
every proper name, and he absolutely fell
down on the point of memory. 1t was
only by dint of hard hammering that l
could get him drilled into one twenty
minute reading. Finally got tired of
taking his money, and had to send him
away.
"Then had fat, fussy little fellow,
who took anOtiOn to play Hamlet with
a dramatic association. told him
frankly that his physique was not fit for
the character. Imagine the melancholy /
Dane with paunch! | had big butcher |
once who wanted to play "Claude |
He was better fitted to lug |
a side of beef than to toy with Pauline" |
1t seemed wrong to take his money, but |
I was afraid to tell him the truth. / be-
lieve the audience cured him at his first |
and last attempt. But the climax of alb |
surdity was little bantam fellow, who |
took fancy for heavy parts. He want |
ed to play COrjOyHnus or Richard |
III, or other parts that required |
voice and action. I never saw him try |
ing one of those characters without |
thinking of the fable of the toad and |
the OK. His tragedy was always very
funny. When L first began teaching /
1sed to try to get these fellows to listen
to the truth. got no thanks for my
honesty, and only lost my customers.
Now, when any one comes to me to be
.aught 1 do the best I can to teach him.
never get tired taking their money as
ong as they don't get tried paying.