fation; and not upon the ftiff artificial manner, which is acquired from reading books according to the common punctuation. It will by no means be fufficient to attend to the points used in printing; for thefe are far from marking all the pauses, which ought to be made in reading. A mechanical attention to thefe refting places, has perhaps been one caufe of monotony, by leading the reader to a fimilar tone at every ftop, and an uniform cadence at every period. The primary use of points, is to affift the reader in difcerning the grammatical conftruction; and it is only as a fecondary object, that they regulate his pronunciation. On this head, the following direction may be of ufe: "Though in reading great attention fhould be paid to the ftops, yet a greater ihould be given to the fenfe; and their correfpondent times: occafionally lengthened beyond what is ufual in common fpeech."

To render paufes pleasing and expreffive, they must not only be made in the right place, but also accompanied with a proper tone of voice, by which the nature of these pauses is intimated; much more than by the length of them, which can feldom be exactly meafured. Sometimes it is only a flight and fimple fufpenfion of voice that is proper; fometimes a degree of cadence in the voice is required; and fometimes that peculiar tone and cadence which denote the fentence to be finifhed. In all thefe cafes, we are to regulate ourfelves by attending to the manner in which nature teaches us to speak, when engaged in real and earnest discourse with others. The following fentence exemplifies the fufpending and the closing pauses: "Hope, the balm of life, fooths us under every misfortune." The first and fecond paufes are accompanied by an inflection of voice, that gives the hearer an expectation of fomething further to complete the fenfe: the inflection attending the third paufe, fignifies that the fenfe is, completed.

The preceding example is an illustration of the fufpending paufe, in its fimple state: the following inftance exhibits that paufe with a degree of cadence in the voice; "If content cannot remove the difquietudes of mankind, it will at least alleviate them."

The fufpending paufe is often, in the fame ntence, at

tended with both the rifing and the falling inflection of voice; as will be feen in this example: "Moderate exercife', and habitual temperance', ftrengthen the conftitution."*

:

As the fufpending paufe may be thus attended with both the rifing and the falling inflection, it is the fame with regard to the closing pause it admits of both. The falling inflection generally accompanies it; but it is not unfrequently connected with the rifing inflection. Interrogative fentences, for inftance, are often terminated in this manner. as, "Am I ungrateful?" "Is he in earneft ?"

But where a sentence is begun by an interrogative pronoun ⚫ or adverb, it is commonly terminated by the falling inflection : as, "What has he gained by his folly ?" Who will affift him?" "Where is the meffenger`?" "When did he arrive?"

Where two questions are united in one fentence, and connected by the conjunction or, the first takes the rifing, the fecond the falling inflection: as, " Does his conduct fupport dicipline', or destroy it`?”

The rifing and falling inflections must not be confounded with emphafis. Though they may often coincide, they are, in their nature, perfectly distinct. Emphafis fometimes controls thofe inflections.

The regular application of the rifing and falling inflections, confers fo much beauty on expreffion, and is so neceffary to be ftudied by the young reader, that we shall infert a few more examples to induce him to pay greater attention to the fubject. In these instances, all the inflections are not marked. Such only are diftinguished as are most striking, and will beft ferve to fhow the reader their utility and im portance.

"Manufactures`, trade`, and agriculture, naturally employ more than nineteen parts in twenty, of the human fpecies. "

"He who refigns the world, has no temptation to envy', hatred`, malice`, anger; but is in conftant poffeffion of a ferene mind: he who follows the pleasures of it, which are in their very nature difappointing, is in conftant fearch of care, folitude', remorfe', and confufion."

*The rising inflection is denoted by the acute; the falling, by the

grave accents.

"To advice the ignorant`, relieve the needy', comfort the afflicted', are duties that fall in our way almost every day of our lives,"

"Thofe evil fpirits, who, by long custom, have contracted in the body habits of luft' and fenfuality; malice', and revenge'; an averfion to every thing that is good`, just`, and laudable, are naturally feasoned and prepared for pain and mifery."

"I am perfuaded, that neither death', not life`; nor angels', nor principalities', nor powers`; nor things prefent', nor things to come; nor height', nor depth`; nor any other creature', fhall be able to feparate us from the love of God.""

The reader who would wifh to fee a minute and ingenious investigation of the nature of these inflections, and the rules by which they are governed, may consult the first volume of Walker's Elements of Elocution.

SECTION VIII.

Manner of Reading Verfe.

WHEN we are reading verfe, there is a peculiar difficulty in making the paufes juftly. The difficulty arifes from the: melody of verfe, which dictates to the ear paufes or rests of its own and to adjust and compound these properly with the paufes of the sense, so as neither to hurt the ear, nor offend the understanding, is fo very nice a matter, that it is no wonder we fo feldom meet with good readers, of poetry. There are two kinds of paufes that belong to the melody of verfe one is, the pause at the end of the line; and the other, the cæfural pause in or near the middle of it. With regard to the paufe at the end of the line, which marks that ftrain or verfe to be finifhed, rhyme renders this always fenfible; and in fome measure compels us to obferve it in our pronunciation. In refpect to blank verfe, we ought also to read it fo as to make every line fenfible to the ear: for, what is the ufe of melody, or for what end has the poet compofed in verfe, if, in reading his lines, we fupprefs his numbers, by omitting the final paufe; and degrade them, by our pronunciation, into mere profe? At the fame time that we attend to this paufe, every appearance of fing-fong and tone must be carefully guarded againft. The clofe of the line where it makes no pause in the meaning, ought not to be marked by

fuch a tone as is used in finishing a fentence; but, without either fall or elevation of the voice, it should be denoted only by fuch a flight fnfpenfion of found as may diftinguish the paffage from one line to another, without injuring the meaning.

The other kind of melodious paufe, is that which falls fomewhere about the middle of the verfe, and divides it into two hemistics; a pause, not fo great as that which belongs to the close of the line, but ftill fenfible to an ordinary ear. This, which is called the cæfural paufe, may fall, in English heroic verfe, after the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th fyllables in the line. Where the verfe is fo conftructed, that this cæfural pause coincides with the flighteft paufe or divifion in the fenfe, the line can be read eafily; as in the two first verses of Pope's Meffiah :

"Ye nymphs of Solyma ! begin the fong;

"To heav'nly themes," fublimer ftrains belong."

But if it should happen that words which have such a strict and intimate connection, as not to bear even a momentary feparation, are divided from one another by this cæfural paufe, we then feel a sort of struggle between the fenfe and the found, which renders it difficult to read fuch lines harmoniously. The rule of proper pronunciation in fuch cases, is to regard only the paufe which the fenfe forms; and to read the line accordingly. The neglect of the cofural paufe may make the line found fomewhat unharmoniously; but the effect would be much worfe, if the sense were facrificed to the found. For inftance in the following line of Milton, "What in me is dark,

"İllumine; what is low, reife and fupport."

the fenfe clearly dictates the paufe after illumine, at the end of the third fyllable, which, in reading, ought to be made accordingly; though, if the melody only were to be regarded, illumine fhould be connected with what follows, and the pause not made till the fourth or fixth fyllable. So in the following line of Pope's Epiftle to Dr. Arbuthnot,

"I fit, with fad civility I read :"

the ear plainly points out the cæfural pause as falling after jad, the fourth fyllable. But it would be very bad reading to make any pause there, fo as to separate fad and civility

The fenfe admits of no other paufe than after the fecond fyllable fit, which therefore must be the only pause made in reading this part of the fentence.

There is another mode of dividing fome verfes, by introducing what may be called demi cæfuras, which require very flight paufes; and which the reader fhould manage with judgment, or he will be apt to fall into an affected fing-song mode of pronouncing verfes of this kind. The following lines exemplify the demi cæfura.

"Warms in the fun", refreshes' in the breeze,
"Glows in the ftars", and bloffems in the trees;
"Lives through all life", extends through all extent,
"Spreads' undivided", operates unfpent."

Before the conclufion of this introduction, the Compiler takes the liberty to recommend to thofe teachers, who may favour his compilation, to exercise their pupils in discovering and explaining the emphatic words, and the proper tones and paufes, of every portion affigned them to read, previously to their being called out to the performance. These preparatory leffons, in which they fhould be regularly examined, will improve their judgment and tafte; prevent the practice of reading without attention to the fubject; and establish a habit of readily discovering the meaning, force, and beauty, of every fentence they perufe.