meaning of his words, and endeavor to consider them our own, we shall not fail to deliver the words, in natural and properly varied tones: for there are few people who have not accurate use of accent, emphasis, pauses, and tones, (which are four of the indispensible principles of good reading) when they utter their own sentiments in common conversation, particularly if the subject be in any degree interesting to them. A man who is earnest in communicating any thing to another, who is animated by anger, agitated by fear, or is under the immediate influence of any of the passions, requires no exertion to express those passions; but will naturally, indeed, unavoidably communicate his feelings with appropriate tones, looks, and gestures. That all have not the same use of them in reading aloud the sentiments of others, is to be imputed, first, to the want of interest in the subject, and secondly, to the very defective and erroneous manner in which the art of reading is generally taught; whereby all the various, natural, expressive tones of speech, are suppressed, and a few artificial, unmeaning notes are substituted for them. Hence the dull, uninteresting, monotonous style of reading which so generally prevails, and is of course, so generally offensive and disgusting.

Did readers, in general, employ the same colloquial tones in expressing the sentiments of others, which they use in expressing their own, all these disagreeable properties would be avoided.

With regard to action, the rule is the same as in pronunciation; to follow nature, and to avoid affectation. The action of the body and the several parts of it, must correspond with the pronunciation, as that does with the style, and the style with the subject ;-a perfect harmony of all which constitutes the complete

orator.

Articulation implies those modifications of sound, by which the letters, syllables, or words of any language are expressed by the operation of the voice, or faculty of speech. And the business of articulation is to make a distinction in sounds, be their tone, their loudness or lowness what it will; thereby to give a

distinct and audible utterance to all the several sounds of which the words of a language are susceptible.

A correct and culation, which is the essential property of a good reader or speaker, consists in giving a full and distinct utterance to the several simple and complex sounds. The nature of these sounds ought to be well understood, and much pains should be taken to discover and correct those faults in articulation, which, though often ascribed to some defect in the organs of speech, are generally the consequence of inattention or bad example. The most effectual mode of conquering bad habits in reading or speaking, is, to read aloud passages chosen for the purpose; such, for instance, as abound with long and unusual words, or in which many short syllables come together, and to read much slower than the sense and just speaking would require. Almost all persons, who have not studied the art of speaking, have a habit of uttering their words so rapidly, that this exercise ought to be carefully observed; for where there is a uniformly rapid utterance, it is absolutely impossible that there should be strong emphasis, natural tones, or any just elocution. There may be also an extreme on the opposite side a lifeless, drawling manner, which allows the minds of the hearers to be always outrunning the reader or speaker, must render every such performance insipid and fatiguing. But the error of reading too fast is much more common. To pronounce, therefore, with a proper degree of slowness, and with full and clear articulation, is necessary to be studied and invariably adhered to, by all who wish to become good readers, and it cannot receive too much attention. Such a pronunciation gives weight and dignity to the subject. It is a great assistance to the voice, by the pauses or rests which it allows it more easily to make, and enables the reader to swell all his sounds both with more force and more harmony.

Emphasis distinguishes, by a stress of the voice, one or more words in a sentence from the rest; thereby expressing, with proper precision and effect, the true import and meaning intended to be communicated.

The term accent means a peculiar manner of expressing one letter in a syllable, or syllable in a word, from the rest, that it may be better heard or distinguished from them. Accent, in our language, is only a species of emphasis. When one word in a sentence is distinguished by the voice as more important than the rest, we say that it is emphatical, or that an emphasis is laid upon it; when one syllable in a word is distinguished by the voice and more audible than the rest, we say that it is accented, or that an accent is put upon it. Accent, therefore, is to syllables, what emphasis is to sentences; it distinguishes one from the crowd, and brings it forward to observation.

If this account be right, it naturally follows, that in monosyllables, accent and emphasis must be the same; and that those monosyllables alone have any accent, which are capable of being emphatical. Monosyllabic nouns and verbs are therefore accented; but particles and other subservient parts of speech are, for the most part, incapable of any accent, if monosyllables. We therefore find them in verse generally disposed in the unaccented part of each foot; as, "Fa'r as the solar walk, or milky wa'y." For the same reason, many monosyllables are occasionally accented, or not, according to their accidental import

ance.

So exactly is accent, in English, the same as emphasis, that when words of different meaning are contrasted, the accent of one is often changed from its natural seat, to that distinctive syllable which the opposition has rendered emphatical. Thus the accent of unso'ciable and intollerable, is regularly upon the syllables so and to; but when we say some men are sociable, others un-sociable; some tolerable, others in-tolerable; we usually throw the accent upon un, and in, the particles upon which the contrast depends.

Accent is either principal or secondary.

The principal accent is that which necessarily distinguishes one syllable in a word from the rest. The secondary accent is that which we may occasionally

place on another syllable besides that which has the principal accent, in order to pronounce every part of the word more distinctly, forcibly, and harmoniously; thus privateer, domineer, caravan, have an accent on the first, as well as on the last syllable, though a somewhat less forcible one. The same may be observed of violin, repartee, complaisant, referee, &c.

In accenting words, care should be taken to avoid all affected deviations from common usage. There is the greatest occasion for this precaution, as a rule has been arbitrarily and injudiciously introduced upon this subject by some superficial orthoëpists, which has no foundation either in the structure of the English language, or in the principles of harmony, to wit, that in words consisting of more than two syllables, the accent should be thrown as far back as possible. This rule has occasioned much pedantic and irregular pronunciation, and has perhaps introduced all the uncertainty which attends the accentuation of several English words.

Accent generally dwells with greatest force and propriety, on that part of the word which from its importance, the hearer has always the greatest occasion to observe; and this is necessarily the root or body of the word. But as harmony of termination frequently attracts the accent from the root to the branches of the word, so the first and most natural law of accentuation seems to operate less in fixing the accent than any other. Accent seems to Le regulated in a great measure by etymology, and a regard to the classical laws of the different languages from which words are derived. And if we add the different accents we lay on some words, to distinguish them from others, we seen to have three great principles of accentuation; the radical, the terminational, and the distinctive: the radical, as love, lóvely, lóveliness; the terminational, as harmony harmonious, the distinctive, as a convert, to convért.

The following rules respecting accent, are a few of the most essential.

Dissyllables have necessarily one of them accented, and but one. The word amen, is the only word which is pronounced with two accents, when alone. Dissyllables formed by affixing a termination, have generally the former syllable accented, as childish, fairer, kingdom.

Dissyllables formed by prefixing a syllable to theradical word, have commonly the accent on the latter; as to return, to beseém.

Dissyllables, which have two vowels that are sepa rated in the pronunciation, have always the accent on the first syllable, as líon, rúin riot, except the word cre

ate.

As words increase in syllables the more easily is their accent known. Trisyllables formed by adding a termination, or prefixing a syllable, retain the accent of the radical word; as loveliness, tenderness, contémner, cómmenting, cómménding, assurance.

Trisyllables which have in the middle syllable a dipthong, as endeavor, or a vowel before two consonants, as doméstic accent the middle syllable,

Trisyllables which have the accent on the last syllable, are commonly French, as magazíne, reparteé, acquiésce; or they are words formed by prefixing one or two syllables to a short syllable; as immature, overcharge.

When the true accent of dissyllables is known, those polysyllables, whose terminations are perfectly English, have likewise their accent invariably settled.

Of accent, as well as of spelling, and of idiom, there is a standard in every polite nation; and in all these particulars, the example of approved authors, and the practice of those, who by their rank, education, and way of life, have had the best opportunities to know men and manners, and domestic and foreign literature, ought undoubtedly to possess considerable influence.

FMPHASIS.

The word emphasis, imports the marking by the voice, any word or words in a phrase or sentence, as more important than the rest. All variations of the