It eludes all the vigilance, and baffles all the power, of the adversary. Bars, and bolts, and dungeons, are no obstacles to its approach: bonds, and tortures, and death, cannot extinguish its influence. Let no man despair, then, of the christian cause. When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line, too, labours, and the words move slow. That morning, thou, that slumber'dst not before, Nor sleptst, great Ocean, laidst thy waves at rest, And hush'dst thy mighty minstrelsey.

Remarks. The learner should be required to read the foregoing exercises over and over again, again and again, until he can articulate, with ease and accuracy, every vowel and every consonant sound in each sentence. Those letters distinguished by Italick characters, demand his particular attention: for an attentive observer may easily be convinced, that few readers can be found, who would not, in pronouncing these ten sentences, be guilty of more than thirty inaccuracies.

The vowel o in the words of, for, from, and the like, is frequently perverted to that of short u; and thus, one of the most melodious and grateful sounds in the language, is lost.

One of the prominent points of articulation illustrated in these exercises, is the frequent recurrence of a difficult sound at the close of one, and at the commencement of another, word: such as, "effects of, such an ocean, ought to approve, wastes and deserts, Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw," in which instances, it will be found utterly impossible to give every element its distinct sound without making a short pause between the words. In the phrase, "weight to throw," for example, the atonick t in weight, cannot be fully exploded unless a pause is made after it. To this point, then, let the pupil particularly direct his attention: for the suppression and blending of sounds, as several of these examples clearly show, often lead to a total perversion of the sense.

RULE IV.

The practice of hurrying over words so as to precipitate syllable upon syllable, and, as it were, blend them together into indistinct and confused masses, is by no means allowable.

The least critical listener is always dissatisfied with an indistinct speaker or reader, though, perhaps, utterly unable to point out his particular faults; whilst the judicious observer has to complain, that letters, syllables, words, and sometimes even large portions of sentences, are either wholly suppressed by

him, or pronounced in so feeble and indistinct a manner as to confuse and perplex the mind in its attempts to apprehend their meaning. Under a false conceit of beauty, some speakers allow their voice to glide along through their sentences by attempting to articulate and swell only what they conceive to be the most prominent words, so that its course appears like that of a small animal passing across a field laid in ridges, alternately appearing in, and disappearing from, sight. Although the beautiful undulation in the motion of a bird on the wing, is highly pleasing, yet were the aerial voyager, in every descent, to sink so low as to elude the sight, the pleasure we derive from beholding his flight, would be, in a great measure, destroyed. Precisely in the same manner are we affected by the movements of the voice. We are pleased with its waving, undulating motion; but, in its progress, we like (if the figure may be employed) always to keep in sight of it. Its descent, therefore, should never be so great as to render the articulation indistinct.

The following examples may serve to illustrate Rule 4.

EXERCISES.

Ive not er dauvim sin se wen tin pursu tau vum.
Ive not erdauvim sin se wentin pursutauvum.

Ther wuza singlur oppahsition beh twee niz alleged motives un diz conduct.

Slowly un sadly we la dim down,

Frum th feel dau viz fame fresh un gory.

Offtin th lone church-yard, at nitive seen
Th school-boy weh thiz satchel in ezand.

Remarks. By pronouncing these sentences with rapidity several times over, according to the corrupt orthography in which they are presented, the precise elocution of many a reader will be produced. After which, let any one pronounce the same sentences with distinctness and energy, according to their correct orthography in which they subsequently appear, observing to give every word and every letter its full and appropriate sound, and the contrast will convince him of the magnitude of the errours against which he is cautioned.

Examples. I have not heard of him since he went in pursuit of them.

There was a singular opposition between his alleged motives and his conduct.

Slowly and sadly we laid him down,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory.
Oft in the lone church-yard, at night I've seen
The school-boy with his satchel in his hand.

To avoid being misunderstood, in the foregoing remarks, it may be proper to caution the student against confounding his idea of distinct articulation, with that of emphasis, force, or mere loudness of sound. The tone of the voice may be very low, and its force upon a syllable, word, or phrase, very slight indeed, and, at the same time, the articulation, perfectly distinct, and the enunciation, quite audible. To the reader or the speak er, this is a point of paramount importance. Whilst a dull uniformity of force and elevation would amount to unendurable monotony, a succession of depressions that produce indistinctness of articulation, is worse than the torture of Tantalus. Variety, therefore, in elevation and depression, force and softness, quickness and slowness, should be studied; but, at the same time, extremes are to be avoided.

AND.

There is no word in the language more frequently and unjustly trampled upon, than the poor conjunctive drudge-and. No slave was ever more grossly abused; and yet, its efforts are so very laudable and friendly in its ever-active exertions to bring together and unite its erratick and less social brethren, that it would be extremely difficult for its enemies to hatch up the shadow of an apology for bestowing upon it such a succession of ill usages. Three times in four, perhaps, when it appears at its post in the path of the speaker, it is passed by with merely an imperfect and uncourteous nasal salute, as if it were some obtrusive menial, unworthy of the least regard. In examples like the following, it is seldom half articulated. Although it is as lawfully entitled to three, distinct elementary sounds, as ever was an honest pronoun to its case, or a princely verb to its tense, yet such is the ingratitude of poor, frail, claybuilt readers and speakers, that they think nothing of robbing this most faithful and respectable servant of, at least, one, if not two, or even two and a half, of its legitimate elements.

Heaven and earth will witness,

If Rome must fall, that we are innocent.

The Assyrian came down, like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.

The word and, in these and similar examples, is commonly pronounced as if written und or un, with an imperfect or partially occluded articulation of these elements; whereas, it ought always to be pronounced in such a manner that each of its own three elementary sounds, though in their combined state, may distinctly appear.

In pronouncing the phrase, " And his," not only the a, but the h, is, also, frequently suppressed, and the sound of d is combined with that of the i following it; as if written thus, un diz cohorts, and so forth. Many would pronounce the phrase, “are innocent," in the first example, as if written, a rinesunt. This practice of suppressing letters, and, as it were, of melting words into indistinct masses, cannot be too cautiously guarded against.

Repeat Rule 4.

QUESTIONS.

Is the voice ever allowed to fall so low as to render the articulation indistinct?

What is said of uniformity and of variety, in the movements of the voice ?

What is said of and ?-Give examples of its false pronunciation, and, also, of the erroneous pronunciation of his.

Is a distinct enunciation of terminating syllables, important to an impressive elocution?

EXERCISES.

She was then young, the blessing of her aged parents, of whom she was the hope and stay-and happiness shone brightly over her. Her life was all sunshine. Time for her had trod only on flowers: and if the visions which endear, and decorate, and hallow home, were vanished for ever, still did she resign them for the sacred name of wife and the sworn affection of a royal husband, and the allegiance of a glorious and gallant people.

But unto the Son, in a style which annihilates competition and comparison, unto the SoN he saith, thy throne, O, GOD, is for ever and ever.

Sleep, the type of death, is, also, like that which it typifies, restricted to the earth. It flies from hell, and is excluded from heaven.

Between two worlds life hovers like a star
"Twixt night and morn, upon the horizon's verge.

Chillon, the favourite and the flower,

Most cherished since his natal hour,
His mother's image in his face,

The infant love of all his race.

For me the mine a thousand treasures brings;
For me health gushes from a thousand springs;
Seas roll to waft me, suns to light me rise;
My footstool, earth, my canopy, the skies.

Remarks. These examples abound with little words, such as the, and, for, from, to, his, her, and the like, and are selected

for the express purpose of enabling the student, by strict attention to a distinct articulation of them, to avoid, in future, the too common errour of slurring over such words, and especially the vowel o, and other letters italicised-the chief source of that enormous transgression of the laws of elocution and common sense, by which many a reader blends words together in such a manner as to present them in the lump. An elegant and impressive elocution depends greatly on a distinct and appropriate enunciation of terminating syllables and small words. Although so great a force must not be given to them as to the larger and more important words, yet they require a clear and distinct articulation; for, without this, not only the beauty and harmony of the language, but even its meaning, are either greatly obscured or wholly destroyed. Who can peruse, with satisfaction, a letter written in villanous, unreadable characters, or a book with many of its pages torn out, and others mutilated, or a newspaper with its columns mackled, monked, and friared? And yet, far more disagreeable is it to one to listen to a speaker or a reader who, by rising and falling, and quavering, and trilling, and mincing, and puffing and swelling, and slurring and suppressing sounds, presents you his own or his author's sentiments in so mangled and mutilated a condition, that one is puzzled to understand one Ihalf of that which he utters.

The meaning perverted by the blending of syllables.

DIALOGUE.

Teacher. What book have
Pupil. A Redermadéze.
T. What do you say?

P. A Redermadéze, Sir.

you there?

T. A Redermadeze! bring it here, Sir.-O, ho! "A Reader made easy.'

RULE V.

The practice of hissing, lisping, whispering, mincing, slurring, or drawling, abridging, mumbling, or mouthing the sounds of letters or syllables, derogates materially from an elegant and an accurate enunciation.

RULE VI.

An affected pronunciation of syllables and words, should be carefully avoided.