Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-09-24
THE HUMAN VOICE.
Some Eminent Men Who Have Pos
 sessed Remarkable Vocal Gifts.

| F s
 sessed Remarkable Vocal Gifts.
 h many of the communications published since the death or Richard Mansfield, on the whole fairly well estimating his talent and its limita- tions, the fexibility and almost ven- triloquial quality and power of his voice, have been referred to. But Mir Mansfield knew better than any one else what his vocal gifts were and with what marvellous modulations or varying emphasis he could suggest by the tones that were at his command the whole gamut of human emotions. He also knew better than some of his critics that the one weakness in Ills voice was that which is also a con- mon failing of. actors of today, name ly, frequent and often prolonged in distinctiyeness of utterance. There were times when it seemed almost as though MT Mansfield mumbled, being apparently as unable, if not as unwill- ing as was Henry Irving, to seek dis tinetiveness of enunciation when pro ducing the lower tones, the guttural or frequently the most explosive ac- cents, indicating violent passion.
 Caphas Brainerd of this city, who is one of the survivors of that brilliant company that escorted Abra- ham Lincoln to Copper Union on Feb ruary p, 1860, recalls the unexpected and yet highly agreeable change that took place in Lincoln's tone of voice after the first few paragraphs of that now traditional oratiOn had been de- livered. His voice was high pitched, and it seemed at first as though it were not an agreeable voice to hear after few moments Mir Lincoln mod ulated it, he apparently having been at first testing the acoustics of Cooper Union, and having satisfied himself, tempered his, tone to that hall, So that after that every word was heard. Of course, the instant command MT Lincoln gained over that audience, which as a whole fairly well repre- sented New York's best intellectual power, made it the easier for him to speak with distinctness. But it was evident that he could have carried his voice over or through even tempest of noises exactly as Wendell Phillips did in Boston when a mob threatened him with physical assualt
 Probably the finest speaking voice ever bestowed upon son of New York state was that possessed by Gerritt Smith famed as an abolition ish, as the friend of John Brown, and as a man who in congress possessed as not many northern men did at that time, the courage of conviction. But Nr Smith submitted to severe train ing, self imposed and self practiced. His voice in it's natural quality was very deep, having almost the pedal tones of an organ, quality which, if not carefully disciplined, is very like ly to impair distinctness. MT. Smith in the open air, upon the mountain side of his country home in central New York, tested his voice and train ed it until at last he was as perfect master of distinctiveness of enun- citation as he was of the amazing power which would carry that voice over and beyond a congregation Of 5000 or more assembled in the pen air.
 Wendell Phillips voice was a tenor quality plentiful in tone, but he discovered when young man first contemplating public speaking that its defect was a lack of distinc- tiveness of utterance. He trained himself as assiduously as any one who ever studied for the Operatic stage finds it necessary to do in order to reach success. He at last so mas tered control of his vocal organ that he was able to speak so that as great a hall as Fremont Temple. Boston, packed to its uttermost gallery was nevertheless not too great to muffie his voice. He spoke too. without ap- parent effort, seemingly not raising his voice above the tone of familiar converse ton.
 The late Senator Carpenter of Wis consin possessed a voice of singularly flute-like quality. It was rather thin. but by diligent cultivation of it he