7. To cure his shortness of breath, he used to go up and down stairs
very frequently, and run up steep and uneven places; and to strengthen
his voice, he often went to the sea-shore, when the waves were very
noisy and violent, and talked aloud to them, so that he could hear his
own voice above the noise of the waters.
[Illustration]
8. He could not speak the letter _r_ plainly, but pronounced it very
much as you have heard some little boys and girls pronounce it, when
they say a _wed wose_ for a _red rose_, or a _wipe cherwy_ instead of a
_ripe cherry_.
9. Besides this, he stammered, or stuttered, very badly. To cure himself
of these faults in speaking, he used to fill his mouth full of pebbles,
and try to speak with them in his mouth.
10. He had a habit, also, of making up faces, when he was trying to
speak hard words; and, in order to cure himself of this, he used to
practice speaking before a looking-glass, that he might see himself,
and try to correct the habit.
11. To break himself of a habit he had of shrugging up his shoulders,
and making himself appear hump-backed, he hung up a sword over his back,
so that it might prick him, with its sharp point, whenever he did so.
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