!

verb being thus diftinguished from every other, may be one reafon, that, when modified, they fo readily admit a paufe between them; because words that are feparately modified may be prefumed to be more feparable from each other than the words that modify, and the words modified. The modifying words are themfelves modified by other words, and thus become divifible into fuperior and fubordinate claffes, each clafs being compofed of words mo e united among themfelves than the feveral claffes are with each other. Thus in the fentence, The paffion for praife produces excellent effects in women of fenfe.

"The noun paffion, and the verb produces, with their feveral adjuncts, form the two principal portions, or claffes, or words in this fentence, and between the claffes a paufe is more readily admitted than between any other words: if the latter clafs may be thought too long to be pronounced without a paufe, we may more eafily place one at effects than between any other words, because, though produces is modified by every one of the fucceeding words, taken all together, yet it is more immediately modified by excellent effects, as this portion is alfo modified by in women of fenfe; all the words of which phrase are more immediately modified by each other than the preceding phrafe, produces excellent effects, is by them.'

After purfuing thefe ideas into their confequences, and illuftrating them by further examples, Mr. W. takes pains to fix an accurate diftinction between a period and a loose sentence. A period he defines, an affemblage of fuch words or members as do not form fenfe independent on each other, or if they do, the former modify the latter, or inversely: a loose fentence he defines, an affemblage of fuch words or members as do form fenfe independent on thofe that follow, and at the fame time are not modified by them. On the foundation of these definitions, he proceeds to form fuch rules for dividing fentences by paufes, as will, he apprehends reduce punctuation to fteady principles. In thefe rules he makes ufe of three degrees of paufe, the fmaller, the greater, the greateft. As these rules appear to us to be in general exceedingly juft, we fhall lay them before our Readers, with a fingle example of each, referring them to their own fagacity, or to the work itself, for the reafons on which each rule is founded.

N. B. The pause referred to in each rule, is found in its example after the word printed in Italics.

Rule I. Every direct period confifting of two principal conftructive parts, between these parts the greater pause must be inferted. Ex. As we cannot difcern the fhadow moving along the dial-plate, fo the advances we make in knowledge are only perceived by the diftance gone over.

Rule II. Every inverted period confifting of two principal conftructive parts, the latter of which modifies the former, between these parts the greater pause must be inferted. Ex. Every one that speaks and reafons is a grammarian and a logician,

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though

though he may be utterly unacquainted with the rules of grammar or logic.

Rule III. Every loose fentence requires a paufe between the principal conftructive parts of the period, and between the period and the additional member. Ex. Perfons of tafte expect to be pleafed, at the fame time that they are informed; and think that the beft fenfe always deferves the beft language.

Rule IV. When a nominative confifts of more than one word, it is neceffary to make a fhort paufe after it. Ex. The great and invincible Alexander wept for the fate of Darius.

Rule V. When a claufe intervenes between the nominative cafe and the verb, it is of the nature of a parenthefis, and re quires a fhort paufe before and after it. Ex. When the Romans and Sabines were at war, and juft upon the point of giving battle, the women, who were allied to both of them, interpofed.

Rule VI. Whatever member intervenes between the verb and accufative cafe, must be separated from both by a short paufe. Ex. A man of fine taste in writing will diftinguish, after the fame manner, the beauties and imperfections of an author.

Rule VII. When two verbs come together, and the latter is in the infinitive mood, if any words come between, they must be feparated from the latter verb by a fhort pause. Ex. Because our inward paffions and inclinations can never make themselves vifible, it is impoffible for a jealous man to be thoroughly cured of his fufpicions.-Without fuch intervening words, the rule holds good when the verb to be is followed by a verb in the infinitive mood. Ex. Their firft ftep was, to poffefs themselves of Cæfar's papers and money.

Rule VIII. If feveral fubjects belong in the fame manner to one verb, or several verbs to one subject, each should have a fhort paufe after it. Ex. Riches, pleafure, and health become evils to those who do not know how to use them.

Rule IX. If feveral adjectives belong in the fame manner to one fubftantive, or feveral fubftantives to one adjective, every adjective coming after its fubftantive, and every adjective coming before the fubftantive, except the laft, must be separated by a fhort paufe. Ex. A polite, an active, and a supple behaviour is neceffary to fuccefs in life.-A behaviour polite, active, and fupple, is neceffary to fuccefs in life.

Rule X. If feveral adverbs belong in the fame manner to one verb, or feveral verbs to one adverb, the adverbs coming after the verb are each of them to be feparated by a fhort pause, before the verb, all but the laft. Ex. To love wifely, rationally, and prudently, is, in the opinion of lovers, not to love at all.Wifely, rationally, and prudently to love, is, &c.

Rule XI. Words put into the cafe abfolute, must be fepanated from the reft by a fhort paufe before and after it.

Ex. If

a man

a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he fhall furely make it good.

Rule XII. Nouns in appofition, or words in the fame cafe where the latter is explanatory of the former, have a short pause between them. Ex. Cæfar has himself given a detail of them in his Commentaries, a work which does as much honour to his abilities as a writer, as his conduct did to his talents as a general.

Rule XIII. Who, which, that ufed as a pronoun, when in the nominative cafe, require a fhort paufe before them. Ex. A man can never be obliged to fubmit to any power, unless he can be fatisfied, who is the perfon, who has a right to exercise it.

Rule XIV. When that is ufed as a caufal conjunction it ought always to be preceded by a fhort paufe. Ex. Forgive ne, that I thus your patience wrong.

Rule XV. A fhort paufe fhould commonly precede, and not follow, prepofitions and conjunctions. Ex. I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Rule XVI. Words placed in oppofition to, or appofition with each other, fhould be feparated by a fhort paufe. Ex. The pleasures of the imagination, taken in their full extent, are neitheir fo grofs as thofe of fenfe, nor fo refined as thofe of the understanding-To fuppofe the planets to be efficient of, and antecedent to, themfelves, would be abfurd.

The length of the paufes is relative and variable, and the length of the principal paufe is generally greater or lefs, according to the fimple or complex ftructure of the fentence. This head is concluded with the following remark:

• I doubt not but many will be difpleafed at the number of paufes I have added to thofe already in ufe; but I can with confidence affirm, that not half the panfes are found in printing which are heard in the pronunciation of a good reader, or fpeaker; and that, if we would read or fpeak well, we muft paufe upon an average at every fifth or fixth word. It must alfo be obferved, that public reading or Speaking requires paufing much oftener than reading and converfing in private; as the parts of a picture which is to be viewed at a diftance, must be more diftinctly and ftrongly marked, than thofe of an object which are nearer to the eye, and underfood at the first infpection.'

Our Author next treats of the inflexions of the voice, a fubject hitherto little regarded by writers on elocution, and he advances many things in this part of his work which merit particular attention. His leading ideas on this head we fhall give in his own words:

All vocal founds may be divided into two kinds, namely, speaking founds, and mufical founds. Mufical founds are fuch as continue a given time, on one precife point of the mufical fcale, and leap, as

it were, from one note to another; while fpeaking founds, inflead of dwelling on the note they begin with, flide either upwards, or downwards, to the neighbouring notes, without any perceptible reit on any; fo that fpeaking and mufical founds are effentially diftin&; the former being conftantly in motion from the moment they commence; the latter being at reft for fome given time in one precife note.

The continual motion of fpeaking founds makes it almoft as impoffible for the ear to mark their feveral differences, as it would be for the eye to define an object that is fwiftly paling before it, and continually vanifhing away: the difficulty of arresting speaking founds for examination, has made almost all authors fuppofe it impoffible to give any fuch diftinct account of them, as to be of use in fpeaking and reading; and, indeed, the vast variety of tone which a good reader or fpeaker throws into delivery, and of which it is impoffible to convey any idea but by imitation, has led us easily to fuppofe, that nothing at all of this variety can be defined and reduced to rule: but when we confider, that, whether words are pronounced in a high or low, in a loud or a foft tone; whether they are pronounced fwiftly or flowly, forcibly or feebly, with the tone of the paflion or without it; they must neceffarily be pronounced either fliding upwards or downwards, or elfe go into a monotone or fong; when we confider this, I fay, we fhall find, that the primary divifion of fpeaking founds is into the upward and the downward flide of the voice, and that whatever other diverfity of time, tone, or force, is added to fpeaking, it must neceffarily be conveyed by these two slides.

These two slides, or inflexions of voice, therefore, are the axes, as it were, on which the force, variety, and harmony of speaking turn. They may be confidered as the great outlines of pronunciation; and if thefe outlines can be tolerably conveyed to a reader, they must be of nearly the fame ufe to him, as the rough draught of a picture is to a pupil in painting. This then we fhall attempt to accomplifh, by adducing fome of the most familiar phrafes in the language, and pointing out the inflexions which every ear, however unpractifed, will naturally adopt in pronouncing them. Thefe phrafes, which are in every body's mouth, will become a kind of data, or principles, to which the reader must conftantly be referred, when he is at a lofs for the precife found that is underflood by thefe different inflexions; and thefe familiar founds, it is prefumed, will fufficiently infruct him.

Much of that force, variety, and harmony which we hear in fpeaking, arifes from two different modes of uttering the words of which a sentence is compofed; the one, that which terminates the word with an inflexion of voice that rifes, and the other, that which terminates the word with an inflexion of voice that falls. By rifing, or falling, is not meant the pitch of voice in which the whole word is pronounced, or that loudness or foftnefs which may accompany any pitch; but that upward or downward flide which the voice makes when the pronunciation of a word is finishing; and which may, therefore, not improperly be called the rifing and falling inflexion.

So important is a juft mixture of these two inflexions, that the moment they are neglected, our pronunciation becomes forceless and

*Smith's Harmonics, p. 3. Note (c).

mono

monotonous; if the fenfe of a fentence requires the voice to adopt the rifing inflexion on any particular word, either in the middle, or at the end of a phrafe, variety and harmony demand the falling inflexion on one of the preceding words; and on the other hand, if emphafis, harmony, or a completion of fenfe requires the falling inflexion on any word, the word immediately preceding almost always demands the rifing inflexion; fo that thefe inflexions of voice are in an order nearly alternate.

This is very obfervable in reading a fentence, when we have miftaken the connexion between the members, either by fuppofing the fenfe to be continued, when it finishes, or fuppofing it finished when it is really to be continued: for in either of thefe cafes, before we have pronounced the lait word, we find it neceffary to return pretty far back to fome of the preceding words, in order to give them fuch inflexions as are fuitable to thofe which the fenfe requires on the fucceeding words. Thus in pronouncing the fpeech of Portius in Cato, which is generally mifpointed, as in the following example:

Remember what our father oft has told us,
The ways of Heav'n are dark and intricate,
Puzzl'd in mazes and perplex'd in errors;
Our understanding traces them in vain,
Loft and bewilder'd in the fruitless fearch:
Nor fees with how much art the windings turn,
Nor where the regular confufion ends.

If, I fay, from not having confidered this paffage, we run the fecond line into the third, by fufpending the voice at intricate, and dropping it at errors, we find a very improper meaning conveyed; and if, in recovering ourselves from this improper pronunciation, we take notice of the different manner in which we pronounce the fecond and third lines, we shall find, that not only the last word of thefe lines, but that every word alters its inflexion; for, when we perceive, that by miftaking the paufe, we have mifconceived the fenfe, we find it neceffary to begin the line again, and pronounce every word differently, in order to make it harmonious.

But though thefe two inflexions of voice run through almost every word of which a fentence is compofed, they are no where fo perceptible as at a long paufe, or where the fenfe of the words requires an emphafis in this cafe, if we do but attend nicely to that turn of the voice, which finishes this emphatical word, or that member of a fentence where we paufe, we fhall foon perceive the different inflexion with which thefe words are pronounced.

In order to make this different inflexion of voice more easily ap prehended; it may not, perhaps, be ufelefs to attend to the following directions. Let as fuppofe we are to pronounce the following fentence:

Does Cæfar deferve fame or blame?

This fentence, it is prefumed, will, at firft fight, be pronounced with the proper inflexions of voice, by every one that can barely read; and if the reader will but narrowly watch the founds of the words fame and blame, he will have an example of the two inflexions here fpoken of: fame will have the rifing, and blame the falling inflexion ;

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but