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very. But we shall now consider only the more importantthe signi ficant inflections; those upon the correct use of which the meaning and force of composition depend;-leaving the learner, unincumbered by rules which perplex rather than instruct, to make a practical applica tion of them to the less important parts of composition as his judgment may direct.

Falling Inflection.

The falling inflection is used where the language is bold and energetic; where a positive assertion is made; or where an indirect question is asked.

EXAMPLES.

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt ?

The infernal sèrpent.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded.

But Jesus said, why tempt ye me, ye Hypocrites!

I insist upon this point; I urge you to it; prèss it; require it; nay, demand it of you.

What, Tubero, did that naked sword of yours mean, at the battle of Pharsa lia? At whose breast was it aimed? What was the meaning of your arms, Your spirit, your eyes, your hands, your ardor of soul?

Rising Inflection.

The rising inflection accompanies the weaker emphasis, where the enunciation of thought is tender, conditional, or incomplete.

EXAMPLES.

And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, is this your younger brother of whom you spake unto me?

If some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against the branches.

The beauty of a plain, the greatness of a mountain, the ornaments of a building, the expression of a picture, the composition of a discourse, the conduct of a third person, the properties of different quantities and numbers,-all the general subjects of science and taste,-are what we and our companions regard, as having no peculiar relation to either of us.

This inflection is also used with the direct question, or that which admits of yes or no for the answer; as,-Are you going to Genéva?

Do you go to-day ?-But if the same question be repeated, as if at first not heard or understood, it takes in the repetition the more forcible emphasis of the falling inflection; as-Are you going to Genéva? Are you going to Genèva?-Is this your book?" Sir?"-Is this your book?

When the disjunctive or connects words or phrases, it has the rising inflection before, and the falling after it.

EXAMPLES.

Did he act courageously, or cowardly?
Do you go to New York, or to Boston?
Would you be happy, or unhappy?

Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil?-to save life, or to destroy it?

Has God forsaken the works of his own hands ?—or does he always graciouspresèrve, and keep, and guide them?

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But when or is used conjunctively, it has the same inflection after as before it; as,

Would a belief of divine revelation contribute to make rulers less tyrannical, er subjects less governable?—He is a man of wisdom; or, at least, of great learning.

When affirmation and negation are opposed to each other, that which affirms has generally the falling, and that which denies the ri sing inflection.

EXAMPLES.

I spoke of his intègrity, not of his talent.

I am going to Rochester, not to Buffalo.

He was not esteemed for his wealth, but for his wisdom.

1 have not been reading Milton, but Пomer.

Think not that the influence of devotion is confined to the retirement of the closet, and the assembly of the saints: Imagine not, that, unconnected with the duties of life, it is suited only to those enraptured souls, whose feelings perhaps you deride as romantic and visionary :-It is the guardian of innocenceit is the instrument of virtue-it is a mean by which every good affection may be formed and improved.

The Circumflex.

The circumflex is used to express ideas ironically, hypothetically, or comparatively; or when something is rather insinuated than strongly expressed.

EXAMPLES.

They tell us to be moderate; but they, they are to revel in profusion.

If men see our faults they will talk among themselves, though we refuse to let them talk to us.

"He has more art than science.

You were paid to fight against Alexander, not to rail at him.

It may teach us prudence, if we derive from it no other benefit.

Were we to ask a physician concerning a sick person, and receive in reply" He is better- -we might suppose him to be yet dangerously sick,-the circumflex giving us an idea only of a slight, or comparative amendment,--but were he to say--He is better--our anxiety for his safety would be at once removed.

The following example will more clearly show the controlling influence which the inflection has upon the sense, without changing the soat of the emphasis:

In church I am unable to suppress evil thoughts. The idea, which this sentence is intended to convey, is, that the person making the assertion is subject to evil thoughts, which, not only most places of resort but even the sacredness of a church does not enable him to suppress. Hence it should be read with the strong emphasis and the falling inflection upon church; thus-"In church I am unable to suppress evil thoughts."--But if the circumflex be used with the emphasis, a different idea will be conveyed,-it will be, that the person, although in most places not subject to evil thoughts, is in church peculiarly afflicted by, and unable to suppress them; thus In church I am unable to suppress evil thoughts.-We will take an other example. Horatio in the Fair Penitent says:

"I will not turn aside from my loose pleasure, though all thỹ force be armed to bar my way."

The circumflex upon thy implies that Horatio looked upon the opposing force with contempt; and is equivalent to saying, "I might turn aside for a respectable opposition, but thy force is not worth regarding." But place the falling inflection upon thy, and it makes it a matter of greater moment:—while it compliments the opposing force, it declares a determination to resist it, great as it is.

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In examining the principles of vocal inflection, the ingenious scholar will find both amusement and instruction. Without being understood, they are practised by all, intuitively, when the stronger emotions are excited; and if persons could strictly pursue the dictates of nature in these respects, they would never err.* But the force of ha bit is almost irresistible; and when this is formed on the side of error nothing but the strongly excited emotions can disengage its bonds. It will be in vain, therefore, to depend upon the dictation of these emotions; for they will be found unerring only in the expressions af original thought,—and then only under circumstances as above described. It becomes necessary, then, that the doctrine of inflections be studied, that they may be applied in unimpassioned discourse, and to the com position of others-studied, not under the impression that the princi ples of nature are to be subverted, but discovered, and strictly followed. Porter, in speaking of the importance of a knowledge of the prin ciples of inflection, says: Analysis of vocal inflections bears the same relation to oratory, that the tuning of an instrument does to music. The rudest performer in this latter art knows, that his first business is to regulate the instrument he uses, when it is so deranged as to produce no perfect notes, or to produce others than those which he intends. The voice is the speaker's instrument, which, by neglec or mismanagement, is often so out of tune as not to obey the will of him who uses it. To cure bad habits is the first and hardest task in elocution. Among instructors of children, scarcely one in fifty thinks of carrying his precepts beyond correctness in uttering words, and a mechanical attention to pauses; so that the child who speaks the words of a sentence distinctly and fluently, and "minds the stops," as it is called, is without scruple pronounced a good reader. Hence, among the multitude who consider themselves good readers, there are so few that give by their voice that just expression of sentiment, which constitutes the spirit and soul of delivery."

V. Monotone.

MONOTONE is a sameness of sound upon a succession of syllables, like the repeated strokes upon a bell. It has the peculiar property of rendering composition either sublime or ridiculous, according as it may De judiciously or injudiciously used. Nothing is more disgusting than a dull repetition of sounds upon the same pitch of the voice, resulting from a dullness in the reader or speaker, and applied in common dis zourse. It is notwithstanding used with the most happy effect, in grave delivery, in the expression of sublime and reverential emotions, and in elevated description. The following examples will illustrate it as used with propriety:

If a man should discover his own house on fire, he would not, like a d lant and disinterested observer, cry, fire! fire! fire!-but we should hear hi more expressive exclamation of fire! fire! fire!

"Shall an inferior magistrate, a governor, who holds his whole power of the Roman people, in a Roman province, within sight of Italy, bind, scourge, tōrture with red hot plates of iron, and at last put to the infamous death of the cross, a Roman citizen!"

"High on a throne of royal state, which far
Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Inde;
Or where the gorgeous East, with richest händ,
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold,
Satan exalted sat."

In the foregoing, the monotone adds much to the dignity of the composition.-The examples which follow present a striking contrast:-to read them with the monotone would make then sipid and sting:

"What the weak head with strongest bias rics,
Is pride, the never failing vice of fools."

"With passions unruffled, untainted by pride.
By reason, my life let me square;

The wants of my nature are cheaply supplie
And the rest are but folly and care."
VI. Modulation.

By Modulation is understood that pleasing variety in the management of the voice, which constitutes a graceful delivery. it is one of the most important acquisitions of a good speaker, and at the same time the most difficult to define.-In an extended sense, it may be understood as including every modification of which the voice is capable. It is easier to point out the defects in modulation, than to define the constituents of its excellence:-Of those we shall notice a few. But in order to be fully understood, we will caution the learner against confounding high with loud, and low with soft sounds. A person may pronounce a word in a voice hardly audible, and again very loud, upon the same key, or equally low. He may do the same upon a key equally high. This distinction between pitch and volume of sound, must be clearly understood. Let the following line,

"Shall Rome be taken while I am Consul?"

be read on a low key note, and with a small voice. Let it be repeated several times in succession, a little louder each time, without varying the pitch or key note, and the difference will be very apparent.

This distinction being understood, the first prominent defect in modulation that we shall notice, consists in inflating the lungs at the beginning of each sentence, and pouring out a volume of sound, which in every stage of progression graduated by the stock of breath on hand. The first part of the sentence, therefore, is uttered with a loud voice, and generally upon a high key; but terminates in a low and feeble close. This manner of reading, which is common is illustrated by the following example.-The capital letters represent the greatest strength of sound, which gradually falls away to the italic:

"GENTLENESS IS THE GREAT AVENUE TO MUTUAL enjoyment AMIDST THE STRIFE OF INTERFERING INTERESTS. IT TEMPERS THE VIOLENCE OF CONTENTION, AND KEEPS ALIVE the

seeds of harmony. IT SOFTENS ANIMOSITIES, RENEWS ENDEARMENTS, AND RENDERS THE COUNTENANCE OF MAN a refreshment to man."

Another great defect in modulation arises from an unskillful effort to avoid the monotone. It consists in a periodical elevation of the voice, both in pitch and volume, on one or more words in every sentence; while it gently undulates upon the rest, varying but little from the monotone. Let the words in small capitals in the following example, be pronounced with a fuller voice, and on a higher key than the rest, and this manner of reading will be exhibited.

"Our sight is the MOST perfect, and MOST delightful of all our senses. It fills .ne mind with the largest VARIETY of ideas, converses with its objects at GREATEST distance, and continues the longest in action without being TIRED or satiated with its proper enjoyments."

It

There is one other manner of reading deserving of notice. is sometimes adopted in the pulpit, from the mistaken notion that it adds solemnity to the subject matter. It consists in adopting two tones of voice, generally two or four notes distant from each other, and pronouncing every word upon these notes, changing alternately from one to the other. The difference between this manner, and that exhibited in the last example, is, that in this, several words are often sounded upon the higher note in succession, and on the remaining words there is no variation from the monotone. This manner may be exhibited by reading the words in Reman letters, in the example following, in a strictly monotonous manner, and the words in Italic a minor third, or tone and semitone above them :

"I tell you though you, though all the world, though an angel from heaven, should declare the truth of it, I would not believe it."

The learner will find much benefit in practicing upon examples like the foregoing: by doing it understandingly, he will be led to the discovery of his own peculiarity of manner, if he have any, and be able to apply the corrective.

VII. The reading of Verse.

The same rules may in general be observed in the reading of erse, that apply to prose. There is, however, a peculiar charm in poetry, which entitles it to a few additional remarks.

First-Although the beauty of poetry consists in the smoothness and harmony of its numbers, the poetic measure should not be permitted to destroy the sense by usurping the proper emphasis or accent. We sometimes hear sentences like the following, read thus:

"False elo-quence, like the prismatic glass,

Its gaudy colors spreads on every place."

"And felt, from lov'd ones far away,

An exile from Ameri-ca."

In some cases, when the metrical and the customary accent do not unite upon one syllable, they can both be indulged, as in the following:

"Our su-preme foe in time may much relent."

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It is a general rule, however, that neither the rights of the customary accent, nor the emphasis, should be infringed.

There are two kinds of pauses which belong to poetry: the casural pause, which falls about the middle of the line, and the pause at the end of it. In poetry in which the casural pause unites with a division made by the sense, the line is harmonious, as in the following:

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