HYGIENE OF THE VOCAL ORGANS.

THOSE who have to speak a great deal are very apt to suffer from fatigue of the vocal organs, and this not infrequently culminates in the inconvenient disorder known as "clergyman's sore throat." In such cases there is generally some error in voice-production. Every public speaker should learn to manage his breathing properly. Collar-bone breathing, so frequently resorted to on the platform and in the pulpit, should be discarded, and the practice of midriff breathing adopted as far as possible. If there is any tendency to " clergyman's sore throat," a regular course of pulmonary calisthenics should be gone through, and this will be found not only to remove the disorder, if it exists, but to lessen the tendency to its recurrence.

Another point to be attended to is the pitch of the voice. Clergymen, especially those who intone, often make the mistake of pitching the voice too high, and the extra strain thus put upon it frequently does great harm-more particularly if conjoined with collar-bone breathing. The pitch should as far as possible be the same as in conversation, though it may be necessary to raise it somewhat when speaking in a very large building.

Another common cause of voice-strain is shouting. The speaker should be just as careful not to shout as

the singer, no matter how large the building he has to fill. It is quite possible to deliver a note with the maximum of travelling power without expending an excess of force; without, that is to say, effort. This, however, can only be achieved by practice, and here those who can sing have an advantage. We have seen that musical notes are employed in ordinary speaking. Now, the essential difference between singing and speaking lies in the fact that in singing the vowel sounds are dwelt upon for some time, while in speaking they are being continually interrupted by the consonants, and hence there is scarcely time to appreciate their musical character. In oratory and recitation, however, more opportunity is given for dwelling upon the vowel sounds, and therefore the musical element is more pronounced. The advantage which the speaker may derive from training in singing is therefore apparent. He should especially endeavour to strengthen that part of the scale which is employed in speaking. If he has a full, resonant speaking voice, there will be little occasion for this; but if his voice is thin, and especially if the lower notes are weak, increased volume may be acquired by developing the singing voice-in the lower notes more particularly. I have on several occasions noticed admirable results from following this plan, which, so far as I know, is not insisted upon by teachers of elocution.

It is somewhat remarkable that persons with no ear for music should be capable of properly modulating the voice, or, for that matter, of even recognising the different vowel sounds, seeing that the difference between them is essentially a musical one. That they

can, however, is certain; while on the other hand, we often find persons with considerable musical ability showing great defects of utterance, but this generally arises from some imperfection in the vocal organs, such as a too high palate or separation of the front upper teeth. It is, nevertheless, true that a musical ear is very helpful to the speaker, for how otherwise can he be master of all the arts of voice-modulation? Certainly a musical ear should protect the speaker from lapsing into "sing-song," that commonest of errors.

Care should be taken, after having given the vocal organs a prolonged rest, not to tax the voice by letting it do its full share of work all at once. The athlete who is out of training does not attempt to run a mile at his full speed, and precaution is just as necessary in the one case as in the other, in order that the muscles may be gradually accustomed to their full effort. It must be remembered that the muscles of speech are considerably hypertrophied in those who have to speak a great deal, just as are the muscles of the blacksmith's arms, and when thus hypertrophied they are capable of doing the maximum amount of work. But after a prolonged rest they become attenuated, and if an extra strain be put upon them while in this state, they are liable to be seriously injured. Political speakers are very apt to suffer from neglect of this precaution.

It is absolutely necessary that the movements of the chest and neck should be perfectly unhampered; tight corsets and stiff collars should, above all, be avoided.

The attitude of the speaker is a matter of some moment. He should stand upright, keeping the chin

somewhat raised so as to give free play to the larynx and to allow of the voice being directed upwards, and if he is holding a book the arms should be as nearly as possible horizontal. On no account should the lower edge of the book be held against the chest, for not only does this hamper the movements of the chest, but it also causes the head to be bent forwards-a position most unfavourable to proper voice-production, apart from the fact that it causes the voice to be projected against the book, instead of being sent into the body of the building. The type should be large, and the light so arranged as to fall upon the book over the reader's shoulders, so that it shall be reflected on the book away from the reader's eyes.

I have already insisted that diaphragmatic breathing minimises the tendency to laryngeal troubles. I must now point out the importance of breathing, as far as possible, through the nose. It cannot be too emphatically stated that the nose and not the mouth constitutes the commencement of the respiratory tract. That the natural instinct is to breathe through the nose is shown by the fact that an infant whose nose is held will almost suffocate, not yet having learned to breathe through the mouth.

The whole of the respiratory tract is lined with mucous membrane. This is a soft, richly vascular tissue, as may be seen where it lines the interior of the mouth. It secretes mucus, and where lining the nasal cavities it is highly spongy. As the inspired air passes over the membrane it undergoes a threefold change, being a warmed, b moistened, and c filtered. a. It has been proved by experiment that no matter how cold the air

when it enters the nasal cavities, it is heated to the temperature of the blood by the time it enters the pharynx. The larynx and bronchi are thus protected from chill-an advantage needing no comment. If from temporary nasal catarrh nose-breathing is impossible, it is a good plan to roll the tongue transversely upon itself, so that the under surface rests against the roof of the mouth, the inspired air being by this means brought into contact with a larger warming surface than would otherwise be the case. This warming function comes especially into play when the speaker leaves a heated atmosphere for a cold one. b. That the air is moistened in its passage through the nose has likewise been proved experimentally. It has been shown that it is actually saturated with aqueous vapour, i.e., made to take up as much as it can hold. The larynx and pharynx are thus kept moist. During mouth breathing, on the other hand, they tend to become dry, as all those who have slept with the mouth well know. Now it is a familiar fact that prolonged speaking is apt to cause a dryness of the mouth ax 1 throat, to obviate which it is customary to provide the speaker with water which he may sip from time to time. This dryness is usually due to mouth breathing, though it must not be overlooked that it may also be caused by excessive nervousness; fear, it is well known, parching the mouth, a physiological truth upon which the old rice ordeal depended. We have seen that the exigen ies of speech demand that the expired air shall pass through the mouth, and that consequently only a small proportion is sent through the nose, but inasmuch as this air is saturated with moisture it has no

open