of the root and fatness of the olive-trée; boast not against the branches.

NOTE. This rule may be applied, even when the hypothetical member occupies the last place in the sentence; as in the following:-We are bound to set apart one day in seven for religious duties, if the fourth commandment is obligatory on ús.

2. His father dy'ing, and no heir being left except himself, he succeded to the estàte.

3. To be pure in heart, to be pious and benévolent, constitutes human happiness.

4. My lord, I think I saw him yèsternight.

5. If we exercise upright prínciples, (and we cannot have them, unless we éxercise them,) they must be perpetually on the increase.

NOTE. Here, the parenthetic clause, though expressing a perfect sense, cannot take the Falling Slide, because the sense of the matter which immediately precedes it is suspended, and thus the mind is not prepared for the rest indicated by such a slide.

6. So when the faithful pencil has designed

Some bright idea of the master's mind;

Where a new world leaps out at his command,
And ready nature waits upon his hand;

When the ripe colors soften and unite,

And sweetly melt into just shade and líght;

When mellowing years their full perfection give,
And the bold figure just begins to live,-

The treacherous colors the fair art betray,

And all the bright creation fades awày !*

In practice, a single exception to Rule II is sometimes heard, and is allowable, though rarely demanded :-When, in a sentence expressing a complete sense, the emphasis of the Rising Slide is given to some word or syllable preceding the last, the syllables which follow it may all take the dia

* It is not a little surprising, that Mr. Walker, and after him Mr. Knowles, have referred the Rising Slides in the reading of this passage, to the influence of tender or pathetic sentiment.

tonic rise; as the syllables which follow the rising emphasis in the following examples :

1. You are not left alone to climb the arduous ascent.

2. It was an enemy, not a friend, who did this.

The occasions for the recurrence of this form of emphatic distinction will be fully illustrated in the section on Emphasis.

There is another apparent exception to this Rule, which however is not real. It is, when the matter, which would express a perfect sense if it should stand alone, is closely connected with other matter; and in reading may, or may not, take the Rising Slide, though it often does. Thus,

1. There was a man in the land of U'z, whose name was Job. 2. The dew of night falls, and the earth is refreshed.

The words, in such cases, may be considered but as constituting part of a proposition, and thus as not coming under the rule. But separate these introductory clauses, so that they shall of themselves constitute entire propositions expressing a complete sense, and they will then take the Falling Slide. Thus,

There was a man of distinguished excellence in the land of U`z; his name was Job.

The dew of night falls; and by its fall the earth is fertilised and refreshed.

It is believed the learner will find these rules and remarks sufficient for his purpose; and that he could not, till he becomes acquainted with the principles of Emphasis, prosecute the subject further to advantage.

II. EMPHATIC SLIDES.

All the slides enumerated in this section as employed in speech, except that of the Second, may be used for pur

poses of Emphasis. This subject will be found illustrated at some length, in Section III, Chapter II.-The employment of the wider intervals of the Third or Fifth, instead of the Second, in the current melody, is inconsistent with dignified utterance, and is a very marked defect in delivery.

III. INTERROGATIVE INTONATION.

Before leaving this section, we wish to see how its principles can be applied to the expression of Interrogation. The question is usually indicated by the form of the sentence; but in order to exhibit the power of intonation alone, it is necessary to take a sentence which has not the interrogative form. Let the following passage be read as an imperative order ;

Give Brutus a statue with his ancestors;

and it will be perceived that each syllable takes the downward inflection. If now, without any change in phraseology, the same line be repeated with the rising slide of the third or fifth on each syllable, it will at once appear to the ear to take the character of sneering interrogation. From this it may be confidently inferred, that the rising slide is the prime element in interrogation. This may be further illustrated by the following passage from the Coriolanus of Shakspeare.

Cor.

In the city of kites and crows.

Serv. In the city of kites and crows?

But the rising inflection does not prevail throughout the whole of all interrogative sentences. To illustrate this, as

also to ascertain the law which regulates this matter, we will present the following questions selected at random.

1. What night is this?

2. Must I leave thee, Paradise?

3. What! threat you me with telling of the king?

4. Sir, are you my father?

5. How can you say to me I am a king?

6. Who's there?

7. Who ever knew the heavens menace so?

In the natural reading of these examples, it will be perceived that the second, third and fourth take the rising inflection throughout, and close also with the rising slide; while the others close with the falling. The characteristic element in those which take the rising inflection throughout, is the direct inquiry they contain; by which we mean, that they are such questions as demand for an answer-yes, or no. The others, not admitting the answers, yes and no, may be called indirect questions. This first form of vocal movement we shall denominate the Thorough Interrogative Intonation, as opposed to the other,—which may be called the Partial. The rule then which we deduce from these principles may be expressed thus;-The Direct Question takes the Thorough Interrogative Intonation, while the Indirect Question takes the Partial.

These two forms of question may be presented to the eye thus :

Thorough Interrogative Intonation.

What! threat you me with tell- ing of

the king?

How

Partial Interrogative Intonation. can you say to me, I am a king?

This last form of the interrogation admits the use of the concrete slide of a third or fifth on one or a few of the syllables, while the rest, and particularly those near the close, take the melody of common discourse, and constitute a regular cadence.

We add the following practical remarks:

1. In interrogation, the extent of the upward slide on those syllables that receive it, varies from the third to the octave, with the degree of earnestness with which the question is put.

2. Some expressions which have the grammatical form of the direct question, as in earnest appeals, exclamatory sentences, and argument, are intended to express only positiveness of conviction; and thus they take the partial intonation only.

EXAMPLES.

Judge me, ye Gods! wrong I mine enemies?
And if not so, how should I wrong my brother?

You all did see, that on the Lupercal,

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?

He now appears before a jury of his country for redress. Will you deny him this redress?

Do you think that your conditions will be accepted? Can you even imagine they will be listened to?

Such interrogations open with a rising slide of a fifth or octave, but immediately change to the deep downward