The evening times., 1898-07-09
Total ..................
CLUB CRITICS.
Attended a Meeting to ScOn. But
Praised Instead.

Attended a Meeting to ScOn. But
Praised Instead.
Two mere men attended a woman'S CLUB
reception one afternoon recently and took
seats with quite a supercillious air; but
1t was noticed as the program advanced
and subjects abstruse and complex were
met and disposed of with the courage of
conviction and the ease of child's play,
| that the complacency of these two mere
men gradually diminished, and by the
time they had listened to tho prophecies
of awful and horrible fate hanging over
their country because SO many things
were done that should not be done. and
so much left undone that should be at
tended TO. they shuddered and withdrew
outside the circle. where they would be
less conspicuous by comparison. To re-
cover their ease and regain their self
satisfaction. they fell to discussing wo-
mans frailties.
Women do not understand the import
ance of a well-p!aced Speaking voice"
said the professor of languages to the
other. They cultivate their manners.
give earnest thought and prayer to their
compilations. spend a large slice of their
income on the hairdresser. the manicure
and the Turkish bath. to say nothing Of
the modiste. and succeed In giving US a
most delectable result to look upon-and
l suppose We ought not to comp!ain-but
why cannot they give little time to
their voices and give US something pleas
ant TO listen to as we'll?
Not one woman in fifty knows how TO
manage her voice and to enunciate cor
rectly. So many of the other forty-nine
affect the shrill treble with crescendo
and dim.nuendo. transitions probably be-
cause it sounds babyish and childish. and
SO many women like to be cunning. If
not that, they come al you with sonor-
Gus volume that suggests a fog horn in
distress more than anything else. There
are rasp!ng voices and voices that make
such an evident effort to be sweet that
they are painfully saCchar!ne. ami voices
that jump out at you eNplosiveiy. and
monoton0us voices. and weak. thin. lit
| tie voices that have hardly force enough
TO carry them 10 the ear of the hearer.
Then. why will they not attend to
| enunciation They persist in saying
'dontchew. 'praps.' nachur:' they drop
their gs and slur two syliabies into one
| and make of an ain termination simply
a nasal sound to finish the word In
! most cases this poor English is due to
nervous haste to get through what there
is 10 say. and could be easily overcome
| by practicing a careful and deliberate
| marner of speech. thinking how each
| word looks in print before Il Is uttered
IL Is only question of time and thought.
and not often a matter of ignorance
The right kind of a voice has a ne
culiar and irresistible charm all its own,
ana woman in general does not half an
preciate its power. II is something that
can be felt. it vibrates sympathetic
chords like note of melody A woman
with this voice may be homely. positively
| ugly. but with one sentence she will ar
rest mans attention, and by the rich
quality and modulation of her tones nor
easy. clear pronunciation of every sylla-
bic, hold and delight him as long as she
chooses. '''r'
The correct voice comes from far down
the thoraN- 1t IS chest tone. and 1,
takes full Inhalation of air to bring II
iortn- Take deep breath and before
ietting go OF 1t again begin to speak. and
you VIII catch the idea: the full breath
exhaies gradually with the spoken words
and the voice Is thrown out rich and mil
IL can be modulated 70 a low, rich tone
without losing its quality, for there is
reserve force behind IL that will nor ner-
init OF Its degenerating into a thin. un-
wholesome tlmbre. Did you ever see a
lot OF women with a grievance all talk
ing at once. excitedly. irrationally. and
at the top of their voices. and then see
soft-voiced woman join them and quiet
ly and gently put in her words? All the
rest stop talking instantly: there is some
thing about the voice that soothes and
calms; 1t is oil on the troubled waters. and
the others feel all at once conscious of
their loud tones and ashamed of them.
"A beautiful voice is as well worth cul-
tivation as beautiful features