The Collect for Christmas Day is a good example of complete Collect form:

I. Address: "ALMIGHTY GOD, Who hast given us Thy onlybegotten Son to take our nature upon Him, and at this time to be born of a pure Virgin";

II. Petition: "Grant that we, being regenerate and made Thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by Thy Holy Spirit";

III. Oblation: "Through the same our LORD JESUS Christ,"
IV. Doxology: "WHO liveth and reigneth with Thee and the same
Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen."

Teachers of elocution recommend that the terminating accents of all supplications and prayers should be accompanied with suitable rising inflections of the voice. The Amen-as sung according to both Latin and English directions-is made to follow this recommendation as shown in the following parallel columns:

*Or Part II. in the case of Collects which have no Part I.

N.B.—In every case all the syllables set to the breve reciting notes are to be sung exactly as they would be delivered in good rhythmical reading.

III. THE EPISTLE AND GOSPEL.

Both the Epistle and Gospel, whether read, monotoned, or chanted in the service itself, need careful preparatory study from any inexperienced officiant in order to secure for the congregation an intelligent delivery—in detailed particulars-of that distinctive church teaching already focussed in the special petition (Part II.) of the Collect for the Day.

One of the most essential features of such preparatory study is the acquirement of a knowledge of how to divide the sacred text into welldefined sentences. As ordinarily printed, these Epistle and Gospel sentences vary considerably both in length and construction; but the Prayer-Book punctuation of the text-although helpful-is by no means an infallible guide to a clear understanding of where each sentence begins and ends, or to any certainty of where the sentence may be capable of internal subdivision.

By the rules of elocution a normal or "compact" sentence is made up of two phrases, which are separated by some kind of pause or cadence. Of these two phrases the former-incomplete in itself-leaves an impression that something more has to be added before the meaning of the entire sentence is clear to either reader or listener. A good illustration of this form of sentence-construction is easily afforded by means of the analysis of a normal sentence of music set to a "compact' literary period in metrical shape:

FORE-PHRASE.

Half-close.

who dost condescend Το be called the sinner's Friend, AFTER-PHRASE.

Full-close.

If the above example be sung or played, it will be observed that the half-close at the end of the fore-phrase conveys no idea of finality; it only leads the ear to expect something more in order to complete the sentence. This expectation is realized only when the full-close at the end of the after-phrase is reached. The literary "full-stop" and the musical "full-close " may be said to give the same sense of finality and completeness each in its own respective sphere; but the musical "half-close" has at least two literary representatives-the colon and semicolon.

The following examples of compact literary sentences-selected from the Epistles—will make the process of subdivision quite clear:

(a) By the Colon.

Epistle for Trinity VII.-"For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

(b) By the Semicolon.

Epistle for Trinity XIII.-" For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

As a general rule-open, however, to exception-a full-stop which is not preceded by either a colon or a semicolon may be taken as the end of a half-sentence, which in the majority of cases is an after-phrase; since, as shown above, a fore-phrase is incomplete in itself. A halfsentence then can only be regarded as a fore-phrase when it is followed by another half-sentence which completes or emphasizes its meaning, as for example:

Epistle for Advent IV.-"Let your moderation be known unto all The Lord is at hand."

men.

Sentences-both literary and musical-are capable of contraction and extension; shortened by omission, lengthened by repetition and interpolation.

A sentence is frequently shortened by the omission of its forephrase, in which case the meaning is conveyed at once by the afterphrase, with no preliminary "leading-up." As a practical illustration of satisfactory sentence contraction, sing only the after-phrase of the musical example given above, and then compare this with the singing of the fore-phrase by itself, stopping dead at the half-close. And as a literary example:

Epistle for Trinity X.-" Concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant."

The following may be regarded as examples of extended literary

sentences:

(a) By Repetition.

Epistle for Trinity X.-" For to one is given to another," etc. Epistle for All Saints' Day.—" Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand," etc.

(b) By Means of a Modifying Clause.

Epistle for Trinity IV.-" Not willingly, but by reason," etc. Epistle for Trinity XII.-"So that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses," etc.

(c) By Means of Parenthesis.

Epistle for Trinity IX.—(For they drank of that Spiritual Rock, etc.) Epistle for Trinity XXIII.—(For many walk, of whom I have told you, etc.)

Teachers of elocution prescribe for repetitions and modifying clauses, slight separation by means of extremely brief pauses; and, for words in parenthesis, a slight quickening of pace.

The Epistles and Gospels abound in passages of interrogation, or questions. Regarded by itself, a question conveys no definite meaning, since, by its very nature, judgment is held in suspense until some positive assertion has been contributed by the answer. The mere question neither affirms nor denies anything. Elocutionists recommend a rising inflection of voice with the terminating accent of a question.

The foregoing hints may be found useful for any public reading of Holy Scripture by means of the ordinary speaking-voice, or for reading or monotoning the Epistle and Gospel at a low celebration, or a Missa Cantata; but for a high celebration, the directions for chanting may be summarized thus:

I.-The Epistle after the Latin Use.

The Epistle is announced-according to the formula given in the Prayer-Book rubric-on the monotone fa, and is afterwards chanted on that single note with no melodic change or inflection, except only when a question occurs in the text. An inflection is then made at the end of the question by dropping the voice a semitone from fa to mi on the penultimate or ante-penultimate syllable, and then returning to the reciting note (fa) for the final syllable by means of a rising melodic figure of the two slurred notes (mi, fa).