member, that to read too faft, is a greater Fault, at all times, than to read too flow, fuppofing that the Accents and Emphafis be well obser

ved.

9th Direction. Attend with Diligence when you hear Perfons who read well: obferve the Manner how they pronounce; take notice where they give a different Turn to their Voice; mark in what sort of Sentences, and in what Parts of any Sentence, they alter the Sound; and then endeavour to imitate them. Thus you will learn a graceful Cadence of Voice in Reading; as you may learn the Change of the Notes in Singing, by Rote, as well as by Rule, and by the Ear, attending to the Teacher, together with the Eye fix'd upon the Book of Tunes.

10th Direction. Let those who defire to read gracefully, practise it often in the Prefence of fuch as have an harmonious Ear, and underftand good Reading; and let them be willing and defirous to be corrected.

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Let

Let the Mafter once or twice a Week appoint: his beft Scholars to!! read fome Oration, fome affectionate Sermon, fome Poetry, fome News Paper, fome familiar Dialogues, to fhow them how to pronounce different forts of Writing, by correcting their Mistakes.

Tho I would advise young Persons to read aloud, even fometimes in Pri vate, in order to obtain a graceful Pronunciation; yet I would not have them trust only to their private Rea ding for this purpose, left they fall into fome foolish and felf-pleafing Tones, of which their own Ears are not fufficient Judges, and thereby fettle themselves in an ill Habit which they may carry with them even to old Age, and beyond all Pof fibility of Cure.

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J CHAP.

CHAP. XV.

Of the Emphafis or Accent which belongs to Some Special Word or Words in a Sentence.

Thas been falid already, that as that Forces of the Voice which is placed on the proper Syllable in each Word, isocalled the Accent, fo that Strefs bor Force of Sound that is laid on a particular Word in a Sentence, is called the Emphafis.

The Word on which the Strefs is laid, is called the Emphatical Word, because it gives Force, and Spirit, sor Beauty, to the whole Sentence; asin Nebem. vi. 11. Should fuch a Man as I flee? The little Word I is the most emphatical, and requires the Accent.

To place an Emphasis upon any Word, is only to pronounce that Word with a peculiar Strength of Voice above the reft. But if the Word

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Word be of two Syllables, then the accented Syllable of the emphatical Word, must be pronounced ftronger than otherwise it would be, and not any new or different Accent placed upon that Word. As in this Question, Did you travel to London, or to York, laft Week? The firft Syllable in London, and the Word Tork, muft both be pronounced with a ftrong Sound, because the Emphafis lies on thofe two Words.

And upon this Confideration it is, that we use the Words Accent or Empbafis indifferently, to fignify the Strefs that must be laid on any Word in a Sentence, becaufe both are ufually placed on the fame Syllable.

Yet if it happen that there be a plain Oppofition between two Words in a Sentence, whereof one differs from the other but in part, as righteous and unrighteous; form, and reform, or conform; proper and improper; juft and unjust; then the Accent is often remov'd from its common Place, and fix'd on that

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firft Syllable in which thofe Words differ; as, If I would form my Manners well, I must not conform to the World, but rather reform it. The Júft muft die as well as the unjust. Whereas if thefe Words unjust or conform ftood by themfelves in a Sentence, without fuch an Oppofition, the Accent would lie on the laft Syllable; as, I would never conform to their unjúft Practices.

As there may be two Accents upon one Word, fo there may be two or three Emphafes in one Sentence; as, Fames is neither a Fool, nor a Wit, a Blockhead, nor a Poet. Now in this Sentence, Fool, Wit, Blockhead, Poet, are all emphatical Words.

The great and general Rule to find out which is the emphatical Word in a Sentence, is this; Confider what is the chief Defign of the Speaker or Writer, and that Word which shows the chief Design of the Sentence, is the emphatical Word: for 'tis for the fake of that Word, or Words, the whole Sentence feems to be made.