Hmm... Here's a passage from The Coverley Papers (ca. 1711), by Addison and Steele. They seem to have leaned towards the elocutionary school.

As Sir Roger is Landlord to the whole Congregation, he keeps them in very good Order, and will suffer no body to sleep in it besides himself; for if by chance he has been surprised into a short Nap at Sermon, upon recovering out of it he stands up and looks about him, and if he sees any Body else nodding, either wakes them himself, or sends his Servants to them.

A strict syntactician would insert commas in several places - e.g., around "by chance" and after "out of it". But taking it as written, interpreting a comma as a short pause and a semicolon as a somewhat longer one, I think it can be read perfectly well as written. (I need another word than "read" there, emphasizing the vocal aspect. "Declaimed" seems rather pompous...)

I'm not sure about the suggestion in your second paragraph; I would assume that most writers of the 17th and 18th centuries would be used to recitation of poetry and such in school, whether they eventually became elocutionists or syntacticians.