The second chapter in this volume is Smoothness of Voice. When the mind of the speaker is steadily concentrated upon the thought for the exclusive purpose of causing other minds to act upon it, the tones under the repetition of drill gradually tend to evenness. To get this result, I once worked with pupils to make them hold the diaphragm and abdominal muscles in right relation to each other, and in one way or another, to manipulate all the organs which are actually employed in sustaining the tones; but I found that as soon as a thought was held steadily in the mind of the pupil, together with a dominating purpose to communicate that thought to others in a way to affect their minds in a definite manner the voice began to show evenness of support. VOLUME OF VOICE. The third chapter is Volume of Voice. Volume is from the Latin word _volumen_, which signifies a roll. Originally, it signified the form of a written parchment. It now contains several significances, among others, that of a certain form and quality of voice. By Volume, when applied to voice, I mean that form and quality which affect the ear as a large column of free tone. This column of tone is so perfectly guided that the sides of the vocal tube never interfere with its progress. If the voice touches any side of the tube, Volume will not be reported in the tone; for in Volume all limitation is taken away, and the voice, like Browning’s Squadron, escapes through a narrow channel as if “its inch of way were the wide seas profound.” The vessel must keep its inch of way; an inch to the right or an inch to the left, and it is dashed against the rocks. A tenth of an inch to the right or left, or upward or downward, and the vocal column is dashed against the vocal tube, and Volume is destroyed. Nothing but the right thought can properly direct this vibrating column of air. The desire to reveal the value and depth of the thought brings to the voice this quality called Volume. Volume indicates the relation the will sustains to the thought, that is, whether the will is free in action. Notice the soliloquy of Launcelot Gobbo in the “Merchant of Venice.” The boy’s conscience tells him to serve the Jew, while his inclination prompts him to run away. His voice is squeezed because his will is not free. No man has half a will while there is contention in his mind. When a man serves the good with all his mind, heart and strength, his voice will have no hindrances in it. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The voice of the man who lives in obedience to this divine service is free and reports Volume. The impulse springing from the well-formed thought knows how to hold the larynx, the sides of the throat, the soft palate, and the tongue in a way to guide the voice free and unhindered along the prescribed avenue through which it ought to pass. FORMING THE ELEMENTS.