The fufpending paufe is often, in the fame fentence, attended with both the rifing and the falling inflection of voice; as will be feen in this example: "Moderate exer“cife', and habitual temperance', ftrengthen the conftitu"tion *."

As the fufpending paufe may be thus attended with both the rifing and the falling inflection, it is the fame with regard to the clofing pause: it admits of both. The falling inflection generally accompanies it; but it is not unfrequently connected with the rifing inflection. Interroga

tive fentences, for infiance, are often terminated in this manner: as, "Am I ungrateful?" "Is he in earnest/?

But where a fentence is begun by an interrogative pronoun or adverb, it is commonly terminated by the falling inflection: as, "What has he gained by his folly、?” “Who "will afsift him" "Where is the messenger" "When "did he arrive?"

Where two questions are united in one sentence, and connected by the conjunction or, the first takes the rifing, the fecond the falling inflection: as, "Does his conduct fupport difcipline', or destroy it?"

The rifing and falling inflections must not be confounded with emphafis. Though they may often coincide, they are, in their nature, perfectly diftinct. Emphafis fometimes controls thofe inflections.

The regular application of the rifing and falling inflections, confers fo much beauty on expression, and is so necefsary to be ftudied by the young reader, that we shall infert a few more examples, to induce him to pay greater at

*The rifing inflection is denoted by the acute, the falling, by the grave accent.

tention to the subject. In these instances, all the inflections are not marked. Such only are distinguished as are most firiking, and will best serve to show the reader their utility and importance.

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"Manufactures', trade', and agriculture', naturally ' employ more than nineteen parts in twenty, of the hu

man fpecies."

"He who refigns the world, has no temptation to envy', "hatred, malice', anger'; but is in conftant pofsefsion "of a ferene mind: he who follows the pleafures of it, "which are in their very nature disappointing, is in constant "fearch of care', folicitude', remorfe', and confufion'."

"To advife 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 cuftom, have contracted "in the body habits of luft and fenfuality'; malice "and revenge'; an averfion to every thing that is good', "juft, and laudable', are naturally feasoned and prepared "for pain and mifery."

"I am perfwaded, that neither death', nor life'; nor angels, nor principalities', nor powers; nor things pre"fent', nor things to come; nor height', nor depth`;

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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 thefe inflections, and the rules by which they are governed, may confult the first volume of Walker's Elements of Elocution.

SECTION VIII.

Manner of reading Verfe.

WHEN we are reading verfe, there is a peculiar difficulty in making the paufes jufily. The difficulty arifes from the melody of verfe, which dictates to the ear paufes or refis of its own; and to adjust and compound thefe properly with the paufes of the fenfe, fo as neither to hurt the ear, nor offend the understanding, is so very nice a matter, that it is no wonder we fo feldom meet with good readers of poetry. There are two kinds of paufes that belong to the melody of verfe: one is, the paufe at the end of the line; and the other, the cæfural paufe in or near the middle of it. With regard to the paufe at the end of the line, which marks that ftrain or verfe to be finished, rhyme renders this always fenfible; and in fome meafure compels us to obferve it in our pronunciation. In refpect to blank verfe, we ought alfo to read it fo as to make every line fenfible to the ear: for, what is the use of melody, or for what end has the poet compofed in verfe, if, in reading his lines, we fupprefs his numbers, by omitting the final paufe; and degrade them, by our pronunciation, into mere profe? At the fame time that we attend to this paufe, every appearance of fing-fong and tone must be carefully guarded againft. The clofe of the line, where it makes no paufe in the meaning, ought not to be marked by fuch a tone as is used in finishing a fentence; but, without either fall or elevation of the voice,. it fhould be denoted only by fuch a flight fufpenfion of found, as may distinguish the passage from one line to another, without injuring the meaning.

The other kind of melodious paufe, is that which falls

fomewhere about the middle of the verfe, and divides it into two hemiftichs; a pause, not fo great as that which belongs to the clofe of the line, but ftill fenfible to an ordinary ear. This, which is called the cafural paufe, may fall, in English heroic verfe, after the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th fyllables in the line. Where the verfe is fo conftructed, that this cæfural pause coincides with the flighteft paufe or division in the fenfe, the line can be read eafily; as in the two first verfes of Pope's Messiah:

"Ye nymphs of Solyma"! begin the fong;

"To heav'nly themes", fublimer strains belong."

But if it shall happen that words which have fuch a firict and intimate connexion, as not to bear even a momentary feparation, are divided from one another by this cæfural paufe, we then feel a fort of ftruggle between the fenfe and the found, which renders it difficult to read fuch lines harmoniously. The rule of proper pronunciation in such cases, is to regard only the pause which the fenfe forms; and to read the line accordingly. The neglect of the cæfural paufe may make the line found fomewhat unharmoniously; but the effect would be much worse, if the fenfe were facrificed to the found. For inftance, in the following line of Milton,

"What in me is dark,

"Illumine; what is low, raise and support."

the fenfe clearly dictates the pause after illumine, at the end of the third fyllable, which, in reading, ought to be made accordingly; though, if the melody only were to be regarded, illumine should be connected with what follows,

and the paufe not made till the fourth or fixth fyllable. So in the following line of Pope's Epifile to Dr. Arbuthnot,

"I fit, with fad civility I read."

The ear plainly points out the cæfural paufe as falling af ter fad, the fourth fyllable. But it would be very bad reading to make any pause there, so as to separate sad and civility. The fense admits of no other pause than after the fecond fyllable fit, which therefore must be the only paufe made in reading this part of the fentence.

There is another mode of dividing fome verfes, by introducing what may be called demi-cæfuras, which require very flight paufes; and which the reader fhould manage with judgment, or he will be apt to fall into an affected fing-fong mode of pronouncing verfes of this kind. The following lines exemplify the demi-cæfura.

"Warms' in the fun", refreshes' in the breeze,

"Glows' in the ftars", and bloffoms' in the trees;
"Lives' through all life", extends' through all extent,
"Spreads' undivided", operates' unfpent."

Before the conclufion of this introduction, the Compiler takes the liberty to recommend to thofe teachers, who may favour his compilation, to exercife their pupils in difcovering and explaining the emphatic words, and the proper tones and paufes, of every portion afsigned them to read, previously to their being called out to the performance. These preparatory lefsons, in which they should be regularly examined, will improve their judgment and tafle; prevent the practice of reading without attention to the fubject; and establish a habit of readily difcovering the meaning, force, and beauty, of every fentence they perufe.