enter into the spirit of the author's sentiments, as well as into the meaning of his words, we shall not fail to deliver the words in properly varied tones. For there are few people, who speak English without a provincial note, that have not an accurate use of tones, when they utter their sentiments in earnest discourse. And the reason that they have not the same use of them, in reading aloud the sentiments of others, may be traced to the very defective and erroneous method, in which the art of reading is taught; whereby all the various, natural, expressive tones of speech, are suppressed; and a few artificial, unmeaning reading notes are substituted for them.

But when we recommend to readers, an attention to the tone1 and language of emotions, we must be understood to do it with proper limitation. Moderation is necessary in this point, as it is in other things. For when reading becomes strictly imitative, it assumes a thestrical manner, and must be highly improper, as well as give offence to the hearers; because it is inconsist ent with that delicacy and modesty, which are indispensible onsuch occasions. The speaker who delivers his own emotions, must be supposed to be more vivid and animated, than would be proper in the person who relates them at second hand.

We shall conclude this section with the following rule, for the tones that indicate the passions and emotions. "In reading, let all your tones of expression be borrowed from those of common speech, but, in some degree, more faintly character-. ized. Let those tones which signify any disagreeable passion of the mind, be still more faint than those which indicate agreeable emotions: and, on all occasions, preserve yourself from being so far affected with the subject, as to be able to proceed through it, with that easy and masterly manner, which has its good effects in this, as well as in every other art."

SECTION VII.—PAUSES.

PAUSES or rests, in speaking or reading, are a total cessation: of the voice, during a perceptible, and in many cases, a measurable space of time. Panses are equally necessary to the speaker, and the hearer. To the speaker, that he may take breath, without which he cannot proceed far in delivery; and that he may, by these temporary rests, relieve the organs of speech, which otherwise would be soon tired by continued action; to the hearer, that the ear also may be relieved from the fatigue, which it would otherwise endure from a continuity of

sound; and that the understanding may have sufficient time to mark the distinction of sentences, and their several members.

There are two kinds of pauses; first, emphatical pauses: and next, such as mark the distinctions of sense. An emphati cal pause is generally made, after something has been said of peculiar moment, and on which we desire to fix the hearer's attention. Sometimes, before such a thing is said, we usher it in with a pause of this nature. Such pauses have the same effect as a strong emphasis; and are subject to the same rules; espe cially to the caution, of not repeating them too frequently. For as they excite uncommon attention, and of course raise expect ation, if the importance of the matter be not fully answerable to such expectation, they occasion disappointment and disgust.

But the most frequent and the principal use of pauses, is to mark the divisions of the sense, and at the same time to allow the reader to draw his breath; and the proper and delicate adjustment of such pauses, is one of the most nice and difficult articles of delivery. In all reading the management of the breath requires a good deal of care, so as not to oblige us to divide words from one another, which have so intimate a connection, that they ought to be pronounced with the same breath, and without the least separation. Many a sentence is miserably mangled, and the force of the emphasis totally lost, by divisions being made in the wrong place. To avoid this, every one, while he is reading should be very careful to provide a full supply of breath, for what he is to utter. It is a great mistake, to imagine that the breath must be drawn only at the end of a period, when the voice is allowed to fall. It may easily be gathered at the intervals of the period, when the voice is suspended only for a moment; and, by this management, one may always have a sufficient stock for carrying on the longest sentence, without improper interruptions.

Pauses in reading must generally be formed upon the manner in which we utter ourselves in ordinary, sensole conversation; and not upon the stiff artificial manner which is acquired from reading books according to the common punctuation. It will by no means be sufficient to attend to the points used in printing; for these are far from marking all the pauses which ought to be made in reading. A mechanic? attention to these resting places, has perhaps been one cause of monotony, by leading the reader to a similar tone at every stop, and an uniform cadence at every period. The primary use of points, is, to assist the reader in discerning the grocal construction; and it is only as a secondary object. chal thy regulate his pronunciation. On

that

this head, the following direction may be of use:

Though, in reading, great attention should be paid to the stops, yet a greater should be given to the sense, and their correspondent times occasionally lengthened beyond what is usual in common speech."

To render pauses pleasing and expressive, they must not only be made in the right place, but also 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 cau seldom be exactly measured. Sometimes it is only a slight and simple suspension of voice that is proper; sometimes a degree of cadence in the voice is required; and sometimes that peculiar tone and cadence which denote the sentence to be finished. In all these cases, we are to regulate ourselves by attending to the manner in which nature teaches us to speak, when engaged in real and earnest discourse with others. The following sentence exemplifies the suspending and the closing pauses: "Hope, the balm of life, sooths us under every misfortune.” and second pauses are accompanied by an inflection of voice, that gives the hearer an expectation of something further to complete the sense; the inflection attending the third pause, signifies that the sense is completed.

The first

The preceding example is an illustration of the suspending pause, in its simple state; the following instance exhibits that pause with a degree of cadence in the voice; "If content cannot remove the disquietudes of mankind, it will at least alleviate them."

The suspending pause is often, in the same sentence, attended with both the rising and the falling inflection of voice; as will be seen in this example: "Moderate exercise, and habitual temperance, strengthen the constitution."*

As the suspending pause may be thus attended with both the rising and the falling inflection, it is the same with regard to the closing pause; it dmits of both. The falling inflection generally accompanies i; but it is not unfrequently connected with the rising inflection. Interrogative sentences, for instance, are often terminat 'ed in this manner; as, "Am I ungrateful' ?" "Is he in earnes

But where a sentence is

or adverb, it is commonly termina

'n by an interrogative pronoun *ed by the falling inflection;

*The rising inflection is denoted by the grave acceut.

he acute; the falling,

as, "What has he gained by his folly'?" «Who will assist him' ?” “Where is the messenger'?" "When did he arrive' ?"

When two questions are united in one sentence, and connected by the conjunction or, the first takes the rising, the second the falling inflection: as, "Does his conduct support disci-、 pliné; or destroy it?"

The rising and falling inflections must not be confounded with emphasis. Though they may often coincide, they are, ia their nature, perfectly distinct. Emphasis sometimes controls those inflections.

The regular application of the rising and falling inflections, confers so much beauty on expression, and is so necessary to be studied by the young reader, that we shall insert a few more examples to induce him to pay greater attention to the subject. In these instances, all the inflections are not marked. Such only are distinguished as are most striking, and will best serve to show the reader their utility and importance.

"Manufactures', trade', and agriculture', certainly employ more than nineteen parts in twenty, of the human species."

"He who resigns the world, has no temptation to envy', hatred', malice', anger';" but is in constant pe session of a serene mind: he who follows the pleasures of it, which are in their very nature disappointing, is in constant search of care', solicitude', remorse', and confusion'."

"To advise the ignorant, relieve the needy', comfort the afflicted', are duties that fall in our way almost every day of our lives."

"Those evil spirits, who, by long custom, have contracted in the body habits of lust', and sensuality'; malicé, and revenge'; an aversion to every thing that is good', just', and laudable', are naturally seasoned and prepared for pain and misery."

"I am persuaded, that neither death', nor life'; nor angels, nor principalities', nor powers'; nor things present', nor things to come'; nor height', nor depth; nor any other creature', shall be able to separate 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 consult Walker's Elements of Elocution

SECTION VIII.

MANNER OF READING VERSE.

WHEN we are reading verse, there is a peculiar difficulty in making the pauses justly. The difficulty arises from the melody of verse, which dictates to the ear pauses or rests of its own; and to adjust and compound these properly with the pauses of the sense, so as neither to hurt the ear, nor offend the understanding, is so very nice a matter, that it is no wonder we so seldom meet with good readers of poetry. There are two kinds of pauses that belong to the melody of verse; one is, the pause at the end of the line; and the other, the casural pause, in or near the middle of it. With regard to the pauses at the end of the line, which marks that strain or verse to be finished, rhyme renders this always sensible; and in some measure compels us to observe it in our pronunciation. In respect to blank verse we ought also to read it, so as to make every line sensible to the ear: for, what is the use of melody, or for what end has the poet composed in verse, if, in reading his lines, we suppress his numbers, by omitting the final pause; and degrade them, by our pronunciation, into mere prose? At the same time that we attend to this pause, every appearance of sing-song and tone must be carefully guarded against. The close of the line where it makes no pause in the meaning, ought not to be marked by such a tone as is used in finishing a sentence; but, without either fall or elevation of the voice, it should be denoted only by so slight a suspension of sound, as may distinguish the passage from one line to another, without injuring the meaning.

The other kind of melodions pause, is that which falls some where about the middle of the verse, and divides it into two hemistichs; a pause, not so great as that which belongs to the close of the line, but still sensible to an ordinary ear. This, which is called the cæsural pause, may fall, in English heroic verse, after the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th syllable in the line.Where the verse is so constructed, that this cæsural pause, coincides with the slightest pause or division in the sense, the line can be read easily; as in the two first verses of Pope's Messiah:

"Ye nymphs of Solyma "begin the song;

"To heavenly themes," sublimer strains belong."