mend a ble pal pa ble salv a ble beat a ble ǎ I, in able, ible. Say eat à ble, not eat ŭ ble; vis! I ble, not vis ŭ ble. The sound of ă is A and the when under emphasis have the vowel sound long; as, “I said ā man, not the man." But a when unemphatic or unaccented is always short; as, "We saw a child playing About." The used before a vowel takes the long sound of e, but before a consonant, the short; as "The oranges were good, but the dates bad." These distinctions deserve particular attention in primary and intermediate schools. They are much neglected. My when emphatic takes the long sound; as, “It is my book, not yours;" but in most other cases it takes the short sound; as, “I give my hand with my heart in it." Even in reading the Sacred Volume good taste prefers the short sound, except in expressions of marked solemnity, or in connection with the Holy Name. By seldom adopts the short sound. In colloquial phrases, like the following, however, it is allowable; as, "By-the-bỹ; by-the-way." These examples are like words of three syllables with the accent on the third. In the word myself the y never takes the long sound, the syllable self receiving the stress when it is emphatic, except when referring to the Deity. There, when used as an adverb of place, takes the full sound of ê (long a); as, "The boy was certainly there;" but when employed merely to introduce a word or phrase, it takes the lighter sound of è; as, "O there is the boy." So with their; as, "It is their duty, not yours." "They will not neglect their duty." In the same manner, your, when emphatic, sounds as the word ewer does; but unemphatic, it shortens into yur, having less of the sound of long u. The following seven words used as adjectives always have the e sounded-aged, learned, blessed, cursed, winged, striped, streaked ; as, “ An agéd man; a learned professor; the blessed God;" not "an ag'd man." When this word is compounded, however, the ed is short; as, “A full-ag'd person." It is the usage of some, when reading the Scriptures, to give this termination in all cases its full sound, but it cannot be recommended for school practice, nor is it, perhaps, ever in the best taste. RHETORICAL PAUSE. Rhetorical pauses are so called in contradistinction to grammatical pauses. The latter simply mark the syntactical relation of words and sentences, and render the construction intelligible to the eye. The former are addressed to the ear, and in conversation or extemporaneous delivery are the instinctive punctuation of the voice. When written language is to be read or spoken, their function is so to separate it into portions, that its import, of thought or feeling, may be conveyed to the hearer in the most natural and impressive manner. These pauses frequently occur where no grammatical point is inserted, and in other instances, the comma, at least, is entirely disregarded. To the reader or speaker, himself, they are of great advantage, rendering his task, if difficult or lengthy, more easy of accomplishment, and much less fatiguing. They enable him to keep his lungs well supplied with air, and to adapt his voice to the ever-varying requirements of vocal expres sion. A good reader pauses, on an average, at every fifth, or sixth word, and sometimes oftener. It is impossible to regulate these pauses by any scale, as they vary in length according to the style of composition, and the intellectual or emotional impulse. The following marks will be sufficient for a notation. Moderate pause; longer pause ; short pause. A long pause is sometimes used in connection with remarkable words or phrases, whether of comic or serious import, for the purpose of giving to them the highest possible effect. It is called the Oratorical or Emphatic pause, and may be marked thus RULES. 1. Pause after the nominative case when it consists of several words, or of only one, if it be emphatic. 2. Before adjectives and adverbs when inverted; and between the parts of a sentenco that can be transposed. 3. Before and after a parenthesis; or any intervening clause. 4. After words in apposition with, or in opposition to, each other. 5. Generally before the infinitive mode; after the nominative independent; and before and after the nominative absolute, or both before and after, as the case may require. 6. Before relative pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and the adverbs how, when, where, and the like. 7. Before the several members of a series, and where an ellipsis occurs. 8. Words or phrases of peculiar humor, force, or pathos, may be distinguished by the oratorical pause. 9. Make a long pause at the end of a paragraph. This will enable the voice to assume a new key, and so, to please and hold the attention. EXERCISE MARKED TO ILLUSTRATE EACH RULE. The figures attached to the examples refer to the rules. 1. The wisdom of God | is as the light of heaven; he reasoneth not; he | is the fountain of light. 2. The idea of an Almighty Being | eternal, unaccused, forces itself upon the reflecting mind. 2. The man is an artist | undoubtedly; his specimens, I think fine | in the extreme. 2. 3 * With many a weary sigh' and heavy groan, 3. The Tyrians were the first, if we may believe what is told us by writers of high authority. who learned the art of navigation. 3. There is not, in my opinion, anything more mysterious in nature, than instinct in animals. 4. Oh! sacred Truth! thy triumph ceased awhile, And Hope, thy sister, | ceased with thee to smile. 4. Homer was the greater genius, Virgil | the better artist; in the one | we must admire the man, in the other | the work. Homer | hurries us with a commanding impetuosity; Virgil | leads us with an attractive majesty. 5. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. 5. Age thou art shamed! Rome thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! 5. The orator having finished | the assembly retired, delighted with the occasion. 6. There is not a great author here | who did not write for us; not a mau of science | who did not investigate for us. 6. Idleness is the great fomenter of all corruptions' in the human heart. 6. How should we rank thee upon glory's page, Thou more than soldier, and just less than sage! Far less than all thou hast forborne to be. 6. It is as you say, but where shall the antidote be found? 7. May faith, hope, charity, peace, and patience | possess your souls. 7. In the same promiscuous heap of matter, | lie manhood, beauty, strength,' and youth. 8. Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And even the story ran that he could-gauge. 8. The sentence is terrible, it is—death! Oh! pardon me thou piece of bleeding earth, EXAMPLES FULLY MARKED. For the Angel of Death | spread his wings on the blast, And the eyes of the sleepers | waxed' deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever' were still. In that solemn hour | when exhausted nature | can no longer sustain itself, when the light of the eye is waxing dim, when the pulse of life | is becoming low and faint, when the breath | labors, when the tongue | falters, a ray of immortal Hope || is beaming from his features: it is a Christian--who expires! Unfading Hope! when life's last embers' burn, Heaven to thy charge resigns the awful hour! Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, I have caused that even this man should not have died? No useless coffin | enclosed his breast, Nor in sheet, nor in shroud, we bound him; With his martial cloak around him. On whatever side we contemplate Homer, what principally strikes us, is his wonder ful invention. A spirit passed before my face, the hair of my flesh | stood up. It stood still, but 'I could not discern the form thereof: there was silence, and I heard 'a voice saying, -Shall mortal man be more just than God? INFLECTION. By inflection is meant that sliding up, or sliding down of the voice, which takes place upon the syllables of words as we utter them. There are two simple inflections-the rising and the falling. The former is denoted by this mark/, the latter by this. Illustration. If a word of one syllable, containing a long vowel sound, be pronounced in a drawling style, Bending the voice in the direction of these marks, the inflection cannot fail to be perceived In the finishing of the sound of the word; thus: "I did not say blame, but fame." This illustration displays the nature and distinction of the two slides. The rising slide is the natural exponent of thought or feeling that is incomplete or continued; the falling slide, in the same manner, allies itself to that which is complete or terminated, Two compound inflections are formed by the union of these simple ones, called circumfleres. The rising circumflex begins with the simple falling slide, and ends with the rising: it is written thus ; the falling circumflex begins with the simple rising slide, and ends with the falling: it is written thus. The absence of perceptible inflection, when a number of words are continuously uttered, is called monotone; it is a uniform level of voice, and is marked thus. With regard to the degrees of duration in the rise and fall of the inflections, as the voice adapts itself to the numerous modifications of thought and feeling, it would be impossible to devise a scale of exact graduation. But the extent of the cardinal divisims of ascent or descent of these slides, if I may so speak, may be indicated to the eye, and satisfactorily explained. This simple diagram represents the divisions referred to. The first or shortest mark denotes the slide of the voice, as it is heard in sentences expressing no emotion or interrogation. According to the scheme of Dr. Rush, it passes through one tone of the musical scale. It may be denominated the simple slide. The second slide is twice the length of the first, measuring in its duration, two tones of the musical scale. It is the index of moderate emotion. It is heard in the intonation of contrasted words: the rising is used in simple interrogation, and the falling in simple assertion, command, and the like. This may be called the double slide. The third mark, being a little more than three times the length of the first, indicates the slide as gliding through three and a half tones of the scale. It is the symbol of warm emotion: the rising expresses earnest interrogation, and the falling decided assertion, command, and the like. It may be called the triple slide. The fourth mark denotes the slide of the octave. Its expression is that of extreme emotion: the rising expresses piercing interrogation, &c., the falling vehement assertion, imperative command, and the like. It may be termed the extreme slide.* *I am indebted for this view of the subject to a treatise prepared some years ago, by Professor C. A. Goodrich, of Yale College, designed to simplify, in this respect, the scientific position and nomenclature of Dr. Rush. We thus have the SIMPLE SLIDE-a mere rise or fall from the level of the sentence, applied to the expression of gentle declaration. The DOUBLE SLIDE-a symbol of moderate emotion. The TRIPLE SLIDE-the exponent of warm emotion. The EXTREME SLIDE, or slide of the octave, denoting intense emotion. In very intense exclamation the voice sometimes leaps even beyond the octave. After all that can be written or devised, however, to aid the student in acquiring a skillful management of this important function of the voice, much must be left to taste, and that persevering practice which conquers all difficulties. country He who has no country to love, has no impulse to generous exertion. The duty of being true to our principles, is not always easy to be performed. The capacity of acquiring truth, is one of the noblest attributes of our nature. The idea of right cannot be wholly effaced from the human mind. Energy of purpose awakens powers before unknown. All men partake, in a measure, of the errors of the community in which they live. PRACTICE ON THE DOUBLE SLIDE. Virtue is not a mode of sensation, but everlasting truth. PRACTICE ON THE TRIPLE SLIDE. Does the gentleman ascribe such opinions to me? And has it come to this? Are we so humble, so low, so debased, that we dare not express our sympathy for suffering Greece? Those that murdered Banquo, what did they win by it? Substantial good! Permanent power? Or disappointment rather, and sore mortification. |