John Neal，1793—1876，a brilliant but eccentric American writer，was born in Portland，Maine.He went into business，when quite young，in company with John Pierpont，the well-known poet.They soon failed，and Mr.Neal then turned his attention to the study of law.He practiced his profession somewhat，but devoted most of his time to literature.For a time he resided in England，where he wrote for “Blackwood's Magazine”and other periodicals.His writings were produced with great rapidity，and with a purposed disregard of what is known as “classical English.”
In the academy I attended，elocution was taught in a way I shall never forget——never！We had a yearly exhibition，and the favorites of the preceptor were allowed to speak a piece；and a pretty time they had of it.Somehow I was never a favorite with any of my teachers after the first two or three days；and，as I went barefooted，I dare say it was thought unseemly，or perhaps cruel，to expose me upon the platform.And then，as I had no particular aptitude for public speaking，and no relish for what was called oratory，it was never my luck to be called up.
Among my schoolmates，however，was one ——a very amiable，shy boy——to whom was assigned，at the first exhibition I attended，that passage in Pope's Homer beginning with，
“Aurora，now，fair daughter of the dawn！”
This the poor boy gave with so much emphasis and discretion，that，to me，it sounded like “O roarer！”and I was wicked enough，out of sheer envy，I dare say，to call him “O roarer！”——a nickname which clung to him for a long while，though no human being ever deserved it less；for in speech and action both，he was quiet，reserved，and sensitive.
My next experience in elocution was still more disheartening，so that I never had a chance of showing what I was capable of in that way till I set up for myself.Master Moody，my next instructor，was thought to have uncommon qualifications for teaching oratory.He was a large，handsome，heavy man，over six feet high；and having understood that the first，second，and third prerequisite in oratory was action，the boys he put in training were encouraged to most vehement and obstreperous manifestations.Let me give an example，and one that weighed heavily on my conscience for many years after the poor man passed away.
Among his pupils were two boys，brothers，who were thought highly gifted in elocution.The master，who was evidently of that opinion，had a habit of parading them on all occasions before visitors and strangers；though one bad lost his upper front teeth and lisped badly，and the other had the voice of a penny trumpet.Week after week these boys went through the quarrel of Brutus and Cassius，for the benefit of myself and others，to see if their example would not provoke us to a generous competition for all the honors.
How it operated on the other boys in after life I can not say；but the effect on me was decidedly unwholesome discouraging，indeed，until I was old enough to judge for myself，and to carry into operation a system of my own.
On coming to the passage，——
“Be ready，gods，with all your thunderbolts；
Dash him to pieces！”——
the elder of the boys gave it after the following fashion: “Be ready，godths，with you're your thunderbolths，——dath him in pietheth！”——bringing his right fist down into his left palm with all his strength，and his lifted foot upon the platform，which was built like a sounding-board，so that the master himself，who had suggested the action and obliged the poor boy to rehearse it over and over again，appeared to be utterly carried away by the magnificent demonstration；while to me——so deficient was I in rhetorical taste——it sounded like a crash of broken crockery，intermingled with chicken peeps.
I never got over it；and to this day can not endure stamping，nor even tapping of the foot，nor clapping the hands together，nor thumping the table for illustration；having an idea that such noises are not oratory，and that untranslatable sounds are not language.
My next essay was of a somewhat different kind.I took the field in person，being in my nineteenth year，well proportioned，and already beginning to have a sincere relish for poetry，if not for declamation.I had always been a great reader；and in the course of my foraging depredations I had met with “The Mariner's Dream”and “The Lake of the Dismal Swamp，”both of which I had committed to memory before I knew it.
And one day，happening to be alone with my sister，and newly rigged out in a student's gown，such as the lads at Brunswick sported when they came to show off among their old companions，I proposed to astonish her by rehearsing these two poems in appropriate costume.Being very proud of her brother，and very obliging，she consented at once，——upon condition that our dear mother，who had never seen anything of the sort，should be invited to make one of the audience.
On the whole，I rather think that I succeeded in astonishing both.I well remember their looks of amazement——for they had never seen anything better or worse in all their lives，and were no judges of acting——as I swept to and fro in that magnificent robe，with outstretched arms and uplifted eyes，when I came to passages like the following，where an apostrophe was called for:
“And near him the she wolf stirred the brake，
And the copper snake breathed in his ear，
Till he，starting，cried，from his dream awake，
‘Oh，when shall I see the dusky lake，
And the white canoeofmy dear！’”
Or like this:
“On beds of green sea flowers thy limbs shall be laid；
Around thy white bones the red coral shall grow，
Of thy fair yellow locks，threads of amber be made，
And every part suit to thy mansion below；”——
throwing up my arms，and throwing them out in every possible direction as the spirit moved me，or the sentiment prompted；for I always encouraged my limbs and features to think for themselves，and to act for themselves，and never predetermined，never forethought，a gesture nor an intonation in my life；and should as soon think of counterfeiting another's look or step or voice，or of modulating my own by a pitch pipe （as the ancient orators did，with whom oratory was acting elocution，a branch of the dramatic art），as of adopting or imitating the gestures and tones of the most celebrated rhetorician I ever saw.
The result was rather encouraging.My mother and sister were both satisfied.At any rate，they said nothing to the contrary.Being only in my nineteenth year，what might I not be able to accomplish after a little more experience！
How little did I think，while rehearsing before my mother and sister，that anything serious would ever come of it，or that I was laying the foundations of character for life，or that I was beginning what I should not be able to finish within the next forty or fifty years following.Yet so it was.I had broken the ice without knowing it.These things were but the foreshadowing of what happened long afterward.
译文 TRANSLATION
约翰·尼尔（1793—1876）是一位才华横溢、特立独行的美国作家。他出生于缅因州的伯特兰德。年轻时，他曾和著名诗人皮尔庞特一起经商，不久，他们就失败了。之后，尼尔将注意力转向学习法律，并尝试做过律师。但他绝大部分精力都用于文学。他曾在英国生活过一段时间，这期间，他为《布莱克伍德杂志》及其他期刊撰稿。他写作速度极快，并有意对“经典英语”不屑一顾。
在我就读的那所中学，朗读是以一种让我永远不会忘怀的方式教授的。我们每年有场年度公演。老师最钟爱的几名学生将获准朗诵某个片段；对此，他们很得意。但不知什么原因，才过两三天，我就失去了所有老师的欢心。我猜是他们认为我赤脚上台表演有碍观瞻，甚或残忍；随之，因为我没有公开演说的资质，并对所谓演说术毫无兴趣，也就从没有被选中的荣幸。
然而，在我参加的第一次公演中，我的一位同学，一个温和、羞涩的男孩被指定朗诵蒲柏所译荷马史诗选段。那段的开头是：
奥罗拉，黎明女神的美丽女儿！
这可怜的男孩读得又重又不连贯，以致“奥罗拉”在我听来像是“偶裸拉”，我当时很顽皮，想必是出于纯粹的嫉妒吧，就称他为“偶裸拉”——这个绰号跟了他很长时间，尽管他言谈举止安静、内敛、敏感，与之一点都配不上。
我接下来的朗读经验更令人沮丧，以致在找到适合自己的方式前，我从未有机会以老师们教的那种方式朗诵。我下一位指导教师是“大师”穆迪。人们认为穆迪在教授演说术的资质方面出类拔萃。穆迪高大、英俊、魁梧，个头超过六英尺。他认为演讲的第一、第二，乃至第三个前提都是动作。他鼓励那些由他指导的男孩们演讲时应奔放不羁。且让我举一事为例，这件事在穆迪老师去世多年后，我还难以释怀。
在穆迪的学生中，有两兄弟。大家都认为他们有很高的朗诵天赋。穆迪显然也持这一观点，他习惯于让这两兄弟在来访者和生人面前表演，以资炫耀。但这两兄弟，一个掉了上门牙，口齿不清；另一个的声音则像一便士一把的小号那么难听。周复一周，这两个男孩为我及其他同学示范表演着布鲁图斯和卡修斯的那场争吵，以便激发我们为荣誉而战的精神。
我不知道这样做对其他同学日后的人生有怎样的作用，但对我而言，这却绝对是有害身心，令人气馁的。我直到能够自己独立判断并能将自己演讲的原则和理念付诸实践后才摆脱这一影响。
接下来看他们朗诵的篇章：
准备好，诸神，
用你们所有的霹雳，
将他击碎。
但那位哥哥读起来却是这样：“准备好，诸森，用你们所有的霹雳，将他击睡。”
同时，他尽全力地用右拳砸着左手掌，用脚跺着讲台，仿佛讲台是共鸣板。而建议这一动作并督促那可怜的孩子反复演练的大师穆迪似乎也为这大气磅礴的表演陶醉了。但对我这个欠缺修辞品位的人来说，那听起来就像把破陶罐的碎裂声和小鸡的叽叽喳喳混合在了一起。
我从未克服自己的这一“成见”。时至今日，我也不能忍受朗诵时插入拍手、敲桌子、跺脚，哪怕只是用脚轻踏。我认为这些噪声不是演说，无从翻译的声音不是语言。
我接下来的尝试却有不同。十九岁时，我已出落得一表人才，可以上得台面了，并能真切体味诗歌的魅力。我读了很多书。在广泛涉猎中，我读到了《舟子的梦》和《阴郁的沼泽之湖》。在没读懂它们之前，我已能背诵。
有一天，我碰巧和姐姐单独在一起。当时我穿着新置办的学袍，就像布伦斯维克的大学生们在旧日伙伴们面前炫耀一样，我想给她惊喜，就提议穿着学袍为她朗诵那两首诗。姐姐马上答应了，她一向以我为傲并乐于助人，唯一的条件是也邀请我们亲爱的妈妈来观看，因为妈妈从来没看过朗诵。
整体而言，我认为我真的把她们震住了。我清楚地记得她们诧异的神情——我的妈妈和姐姐生平没有见过更好或更坏的朗诵，她们绝非在对表演品头论足——当时，我穿着华丽的学袍急速地走来走去，伸出双臂、扬起眼睛来加强下面这些段落的朗诵效果：
在他身旁，母狼在灌木丛中窸窣，
蝮蛇的呼吸声传到他耳朵里，
直到他从梦中醒来，惊慌地大呼：
“啊，什么时候我能看到昏暗的湖，
和我的恋人的白色独木舟？”
再如这段：
你被放在绿色海藻铺就的床上，
你的白骨四周长出红珊瑚。
你金黄的头发形成琥珀的线，
每一部分都匹配你的华府。
挥动着双臂，在精神或情感的支配、推动下，向各个可能的方向挥动着双臂；因为我总是促使我的肢体和表情独立地思考和动作，而在一生中从未预先设定或提前想好某个手势、某种语调；一想到采用或模仿我所见过的最著名的演说家的手势或语调，我就会想到去假扮别人的表情、步伐或声音以及用定音管来调整自己的声调（古代演说家曾这样做过，对他们来说，演说就是表演朗诵，是戏剧的一个分支）。
结果很令人振奋。我妈妈和姐姐都很满意。至少，她们没有任何不满。我才仅仅十九岁，再多一点经验后，我会无所成就吗？
当我在妈妈和姐姐面前朗诵时，我几乎没有想过这会产生任何严肃的结果，没有想到我是在为未来生活的勇气奠定基础，是正在开始一个持续四五十年尚未完成的事业。是的，就是这样。我在不知不觉间打破了坚冰。这些事不过是很久以后发生的那些事的预兆。
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