punctuation. It will by no means be fufficient to attend to the points used in printing; for these are far from marking all the paufes, 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 a 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 stops, yet a greater fhould be given to the fenfe; and their correfpondent times occafionally lengthened beyond what is usual in common speech."

To render paufes pleafing and expreffive, they must not only be made in the right place, but alfo 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 measured. 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 fpeak, when engaged in real and earnest discourse with others. The following fentence exemplifies the fufpending and the chafing paufes: "Hope, the balm of life, fooths us under every misfortune." The first and fecond pauses are accompanied by an inflection of voice, that gives the hearer a 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 illuftration of the fufpending paufe, in its fimple ftate: the following inftance exhibits that pause with a degree of cadence in the voice "If content cannot remove the difquietudes of mankind, it will at leaft alleviate them."

;

The fufpending paufe is often, in the fame fentence, attended with both the rifing and the falling inflection of voice; as will be seen in this example: "Moderate exercise, and habitual temperance', ftrengthen the conftitution."*

The rifing inflection is denoted by the acute; the falling, by the

grave accent.

6

As the fufpending pause may be thus attended with both the rifing and the falling infection, it is the fame with regard to the clofing paufe: 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 fentence 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 queftions 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.. difcipline', 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 fo neceffary to be studied by the young reader, that we shall infert a few more examples to induce him to pay greater attention to the fubject. In these inftances, all the inflections are not Such only are diftinguished as are most striking, and will best serve to fhow the reader their utility and im portance.

marked.

"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."

:

"To advife 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 cuftom, 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 feafoned and prepared for pain and mifery."

"I am perfuaded, that neither death', nor life'; nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers; nor things prefent, nor things to come'; nor height, nor depth; nor any other creature, shall be able to feparate us from the love of God."

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

'SECTION VIII. .

MANNER OF READING VERSE

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 refts of its own and to adjust and compound thefe properly with the paufes of the fenfe, so as neither to hurt the ear, nor offend the understanding, is so very nice a matter, that it is no wonder we fo feldom meet with good readers of poetry. There are two kinds of pauses that belong to the melody of verfe one is, the paufe 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 strain or verfe to be finished, rhyme renders this always fenfible; and in fome measure compels us to obferve it in our pronunciation. In respect to blank verse, we ought alfo 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 pause, every appearance of fingfong and tone must be carefully guarded againft. The clofe of the line where it makes no paufe 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 fhould be denoted only by fuch a flight fufpenfion 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 hemiftics; a paufe, not fo great as that which belongs to the clofe of the line, but ftill fenfible to an ordinary ear. This, which is called the cæfural paufe, may fall, in English heroic verse, after the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th fyllables in the line. Where the verfe is fo conftructed, that this cæfural paufe 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 fhould happen that words which have fuch 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 fort of struggle between the fenfe and the found, which renders it difficult to read fuch lines harmonioufly. The rule of proper pronunciation in fuch cafes, is to regard only the paufe which the fenfe forms; and to read the line accordingly. The neglect of the cæfural pause may make the line found fomewhat unharmonioufly; but the effect would be much worse, if the sense were facrificed to the found. For inftance in the following line of Milton, ..." What in me is dark,

"Illumine; what is low, raise and support."

the fenfe clearly dictates the pause 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 Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, "I fit, with fad civility I read :"

the ear plainly points out the cæfural paufe as falling after fad, the fourth fyllable. But it would be very bad reading to make any pause there, fo as to feparate fad and civility. The fenfe admits of no other pause 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 intro ducing what may be called demi cæfuras, which require very flight paufes; and which the reader should manage

with judgment, or he will be apt to fall into an affected fing-fong mode of pronouncing verfes of this kind. The following lines exemplify the demi cæfura.

"Warms' in the fun", refrefhes' in the breeze,
"Glows' in the stars", and b'offoms in the trees;
"Lives' through all life", extends' through all extent,
Spreads' undivided", operate, unspent."

Before the conclufion of this introduction, the Compiler takes the liberty to recommend to thofe teachers, who may favour his compilation, to exercife their pupils in discovering and explaining the emphatic words, and the proper tones and pauses, of every portion affigned them to read, previoufly to their being called out to the performance. Thefe 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 difcovering the meaning, force, and beauty, of every fentence they perufe.