EXCLAMATION.

RULE X.-When a word is repeated in form of an exclamation, it has generally the rising inflection.

Newton was a Christian. Newton'! whose mind burst forth from the fetters cast by nature, on our finite conceptions.

ACCENT.

RULE XI.-Words which are the same, in part of their formation, when opposed to, or distinguished from each other, howsoever ordinarily accented, have the accent on that syllable in which they differ.

There is a material difference between giving and forgiving. In this species of composition, plausibility is much more impor tant than probability.

RHETORICAL DIVISION OF WORDS.

Words are rhetorically divided into emphatic, accented, and unaccented or feeble.

Words are emphatic, when they have an antithesis expressed or understood, or when we wish to enforce particularly, the ideas which they represent; they are accented, when they consist of principal verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, not connecting ones, and unaccented or feeble, when they consist of auxiliary verbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and articles, or words of any description, depending upon an emphatic word.†

*

I can assure you, that I speak from long experience; and that you may implicitly believe me, when I say, that exercise and temperance will undoubtedly strengthen even an INDIFFERENT constitution.

Here, the word indifferent, because it is opposed, by implication, to the epithet sound, is emphatic: the words

* Personal and adjective pronouns, when they are antecedents; and relative pronouns, when their antecedents are not expressed, become accented words.

He that runs may read.

Great is your kindness who can thus allow.

I cannot give credit to him who has once deceived me.
Who seeks for glory, often finds a grave.

+ Except when such words can be separated into phrases; in which case the last phrase has the inflection proper to the sentence to which it belongs: as, "To say that she was always unfortunate, will not account for that long and almost uninterrupted success or of calamities' which befel her."

assure, speak, believe, say, strengthen, because they are principal verbs; experience, exercise, temperance, because they are nouns; long, because it is an adjective; implicitly, undoubtedly, and (with Mr. Walker's leave) even, because they are adverbs, and not connective ones-are accented: and can, may, will, because they are auxiliary verbs; I and you, because they are pronouns; that and and, because they are conjunctions; and when, because it is a connective adverb; an, because it is an article; and constitution, because it depends upon an emphatic word—are unaccented, or feeble words.

Note. Whensoever a word represents an idea which has been expressed or implied in the prece ding part of the sentence; that word, unless inserted for the sake of emphasis, becomes necessarily unac cented: as,

Our caution increasing as our years increase, FEAR becomes, at last, the prevailing PASSION of the mind, &c.

The idea, passion, being implied in the word, fear-the word, passion, becomes unaccented, and follows the inflection of the preceding word.

EMPHASIS.*

Emphasis is of two kinds, absolute and relative. Relative emphasis has always an antithesis, either expressed or implied: absolute emphasis takes place, when the peculiar eminence of the thought is solely -singly considered.

'Twas base and poor, unworthy of a peasant',

To forge a scroll so villanous and loose,

And mark it with a noble lady's name.

Here we have an example of relative emphasis; for, if the thought were expressed at full, it would stand thus-Unworthy not only of a gentleman, but even of a peasant.†

* I apprehend, that, notwithstanding all that has been written upon the subject, the true definition of emphasis remains still to be discovered.

This demonstrates the impropriety of asserting, that what we have taken the liberty of calling relative emphasis, and what Mr. Walker designates by the name of the strong emphasis, excludes the antithesis; for the quality unworthy, is here referred to both the gentleman and the peasant. The fact is, it either excludes or includes the antithesis. In the above instance, it includes it; in the following, it

excludes it.

I'll be, in men's despite, a monarch

That is, not with the consent of men, but in their despite.

'Twas base and poor, unworthy of a man,
To forge a scroll so villanous and loose,
And mark it with a noble lady's name.

Here we have an example of absolute emphasis; for, if the thought were expressed at full, it would stand thusUnworthy a being composed of such perfections as constitute a

man. *

SINGLE (1), Double (2), and trEBLE (3) EMPHASIS.

The rules under this head are every way superfluous. Single, double, and treble emphasis, are nothing but examples of antithesis. Antithesis, abstractedly considered, is a series of two members, each of which may consist of one or more parts. † (1) We can do nothing—against' the truth, but for the truth. Here each member consists of one part.

Custom-is the plague' of wise' men—and the idol' of focls`.

Here each member consists of two parts, which are inflected as the members of a series; the one commencing, and the other concluding.

-never to do violence'; so it is of

(2) As it is the part of justicemodesty'—never to commit offence'.

Here, again, each member consists of two parts, which are inflected as the members of a compound series; the one commencing, and the other concluding.

(3) A friend cannot be known-in prosperity; and an enemy cannot be hidden-in adversity'.

The same thing takes place here.

In reasoning upon this example, Mr. Walker, by the most palpable contradiction, refutes his own theory. He says, " this inflection intimates, that something is affirmed of the emphatic, which is not denied of the antithetic object;" and this position he thus illustrates, or proves

Unworthy of a man, though NOT unworthy of a brute.

Is this affirming, or not denying, of the subject brute, what is affirmed of the subject man? Is this the alleged act unworthy of both the brute and the man? Assuredly not! The implied antithetic subject, brute, is here positively excluded; and Mr. Walker has absolutely attributed to the weak emphasis, what he asserts to be the sole-the characteristic property of the strong emphasis! Nothing less could be expected. His premiss was false. All emphasis has not an antithesis either expresse 1 or understood, or else the rising and the falling emphasis are the same; or, if not the same, the former has no antithesis.

+ Examples of harmonic inflection. I have a faint idea of a more philosophical theory upon this subject; but I have not space here for the discussion."

EMPHATIC PHRASE.

RULE XII. When we wish to give a phrase with the utmost possible force, not only every word which enters into the composition of it, becomes emphatic, but even the parts of compound words are pronounced as if they were independent.

There was a time, then, my fellow-citizens, when the Laceda monians were sovereign masters both by sea and land; when their troops and forts surrounded the entire circuit of Attica; when they possessed Eubœa, Tanagra, the whole Baotian district, Megara, gina, Cleone, and the other islands; while this state had not one ship—no, NOT—ONE—WALL.

That's truly great! what, think you, 'twas set up
The Greek and Roman name in such a lustre,
But doing right, in stern despite of nature;
Shutting their ears 'gainst all her little cries,
When great, august, and godlike justice call'd!
At Aulis-one pour'd out a daughter's life,
And gain'd more glory than by all his wars!
Another slew a sister in just rage!

A third, the theme of all succeeding time,
Gave to the cruel axe, a darling son!

Nay, some for virtue have entomb'd theirselves,

As he of Carthage-an immortal name!

But there is ONE-STEP-LEFT-above them all!
Above their history, above their fable!

A wife!-bride-mistress unenjoy'd-Do that!
And tread upon the Greek and Roman glory!

Or shall I who was born I might almost say, but certainly brought up in the tent of my father that most excellent general! -shall 1, the conqueror of Spain and Gaul, and not only of the Alpine nations, but which is greater yet, of the Alps themselvesshall I compare myself with this-—HALF-YEAR—CAPTAIN? a captain-before whom, should one place the two armies without their ensigns, I am persuaded he would not know to which of them he is consul.

Note. The rule for the intermediate, or elliptical member, is superfluous; as it simply refers to a word or words, depending on emphatie words, and consequently feeble.

Must we, in your person, crown the author of the pulte calamities, or must we destroy' hum

RHETORICAL PUNCTUATION.

All that has been said upon this subject is contained in the following lines:

In pausing, ever let this rule take place:
Never to separate words, in any case,
That are less separable than those you join;
And-which imports the same-not to combine
Such words together as do not relate

So closely as the words you separate.

I am convinced, that a nice attention to rhetorical punctuation, has an extremely mischievous tendency, and is totally inconsistent with nature. Give the sense of what you read-MIND is the thing. Pauses are essential only where their omission would obscure the sense. The orator, who, in the act of delivering himself, is studiously solicitous about parcelling his words, is sure to leave the best part of his work undone. He delivers words, not thoughts. Deliver thoughts, and words will take care enough of themselves. I repeat it--BE IN EARNEST.

We have thus attempted to give a short abstract of the principles of Elocution, so far as the inflecting of the voice is concerned. And here we beg leave to correct the erroneous position, that the inflections are essential to the sense. They are no such thing-except, perhaps, in the single article of emphasis-and for this palpable reason— the English, Scotch, and Irish, use them differently, and yet not the smallest ambiguity follows with regard to the communication, or the production of thought. The sense is a guide to the use of the inflections: that is all. The system is nothing more nor less than an analysis—if I may use the term-of the manner in which the best speakers in London modulate the voice; and, as such, is highly important-assisting us to get rid of one source of that