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XXXII. SPECIAL EXERCISES IN ELOCUTION.

PART I.

CLAUSE (klauz), n., a separate mem- DIS-PERSE', v. t., to scatter; to dis

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Pronounce Mirabeau, Mir'a-bo.

pel.

PROM'I-NENT, a., standing out.
AR'BI-TRA-RY, α., absolute; governed

by will only.

IN-VIS'I-RLE, a., not to be seen.

TRAG'E-DY (traj'e-dy), n., a dramatic poem; a fatal event.

Do not say empasis for em'pha-sis (em'fa-sis);

spiled for spoiled; doo for due; particlar for par tic u-lar. Re'al-ly is in three syllables. Do not call it reely. In cer'tain, cap'tain, nɔun'tain, &c., ai has the sound of short i. act

a

right

Godrich on

1. ARTICULATION is the correct formation, by the organs of speech, of certain sounds. Every word of more than one syllable is distinguished by the more forcible utterance, called accent, of one particular syl ́lable, and the lighter utterance of the other, or others.

The following words afford examples of accent: A com'pound, to com-pound'; an ac'cent, to ac-cent'; blas'phe-mous, blas-phem'ing; com-mander, com-mandant'.

2. Pronunciation is the utterance of words with those vowel and consonant sounds, and that accent, which the best usage has established. Thus, pronunciation teaches us to say, ve'he-ment instead of ve-he'ment; mis'chiev-ous instead of mis-chiev'ous; and to sound the ou in group and soup like o in move, instead of like ou in house. The correct pronunciation of words can be best learnt by reference to the dictionary. x

3. Pronunciation properly includes articulation. “In just articulation," says Austin, "the words are not hurried over, nor precipitated syllable over syllable. They are delivered out from the lips, as beautiful coins, newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately im

pressed, perfectly finished, neatly struck by the proper organs; distinct, sharp, in due succession, and of due weight."

4. Inflections of the voice are those upward and downward slides in tone, by which we express either the suspension or the completion of the meaning of what we utter. Read the following sentence: "As trees and plants necessarily arise from seeds, so are you, An'tony, the seed of this most calamitous war." Here the voice slides up at the end of the first clause, at seeds, as the sense is not per-fected, and slides down at the completion of the sense, at the word war, where the sentence ends.

5. Emphasis is that peculiar stress which we lay upon particular words, to bring out their meaning or importance more directly. Thus, in the following couplet from Pope, there is an example of emphasis :

""Tis hard to say if greater want of skill
Appear in writing or in judging ill."

Here the words writing and judging are opposed to each other, and are, therefore, the emphatical words.

6. Another example: "When a Persian soldier was reviling Alexander the Great, an officer reprimanded him, by saying, Sir, you were paid to fight against Alexander, and not to rail at him." Here the reader who fully comprehends the force and meaning of the sentence, will not go astray in laying stress on the prominent words. We may apply the same remark to the following couplet, by Cowper:

"A modest, sensible, and well-bred man

Would not insult me, and no other can."

7. Arbitrary rules are of little value in teaching to read. If you fully understand and feel what you are reading, if you can pronounce all the words correctly, and if you have acquired facility of utterance

by practice, you will be likely to read aright. "Probably not a single instance," says Archbishop Whately, "could be found, of any one who has at tained, by the study of any system of instruction, a really good delivery; but there are many-probably nearly as many as have fully tried the experiment who have by this means been totally spoiled."

8. In familiar discourse we rarely fail to place the emphasis properly; and this is because we fully understand what we are saying. In order, therefore, to give the right emphasis to what we read aloud, we should acquaint ourselves with the meaning and construction of every sentence; for emphasis is, as it were, the invisible gesticulation of the mind through the voice, and all rules must give way to it.

9. Dispose the emphasis aright in the following sentence: "The pleasures of the imagination are not so gross as those of sense, nor so refined as those of the understanding." In this example, the emphatic words, gross and refined, are opposed to each other, and contrasted with sense and understanding.

"He raised a mortal to the skies;

She drew an angel down.”

Here three emphatic words in the first line are opposed to three in the second.

10. In the following passage, from Addison's tragedy of "Cato," the italicized words ought to be the most emphatic; and the parenthetical clause ought to be spoken in a lower tone of voice, and with a more rapid utterance, than the principal sentence; a slight pause, both before and after the parenthesis, being appro priate.

"If there's a Power above us

(And that there is, all Nature cries aloud

Through all her works), he must delight in virtus
And that which he delights in must be happy."

11. The reply of Mirabeau, to the messenger of the king, who had ordered the French National Assembly to disperse, presents two emphatic words, which the reader who comprehends and feels the speech will not be slow to detect: "Go say to those who sent you, that we are here by the power of the people, and that we will not be driven hence save by the power of the bayonet."

12. The following passage, in the reply of Lord Thurlow to the Duke of Grafton, contains at least eight prominently emphatic words: "No one venerates the Peerage more than I do; but, my lords, I must say that the Peerage solicited me, not I the Peerage. Nay, more,-I can say, and will say, that, as a peer of Parliament, as Speaker of this right honorable House, as keeper of the great seal, as guardian of his majesty's conscience, as Lord High Chancellor of England, nay, even in that character alone in which the noble duke would think it an affront to be considered, but which character none can deny me, as a man, I am, at this moment, as respectable — I beg leave to add, as much respected as the proudest peer I now look down upon."

13. Few positive rules for reading can be laid down, to which many unforeseen exceptions can not be taken. "Give the sense of what you read," says Mr. Knowles. "Mind is the thing. Pauses are essential only where the omission would obscure the sense. The orator who, in the act of delivering himself, is studiously solicitous about parceling 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, providing always that you have acquired the proper accuracy in pronunciation."

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XXXIII.—THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.

SIEGE (seej), n., the besetting of a | IN-CUL'CATE, v. t., to urge upon by

place with troops.

SERVILE, a., slavish; cringing.
BESTIAL, a, like a beast.

SOR'DID, a.,

foul; covetous.

BOM-BARD', v. t., to attack with bombs.
FO-MENT', v. t., to excite with heat.

IN'CU-BUS, n., the nightmare.

frequent repetition.

DE-VEL'OP, v. t., to uncover.

ES-SEN'TIAL, a., necessary; pure.
DE-MOR AL-IZ-ING, a., tending to de-
stroy moral principles.

MAG-NA-NIM'I-TY, n., greatness of
mind; generosity.

Avoid saying wuss for worse; exibit for ex-hib'it; tremendyous for tre-men'dous. Sound er in prop'er-ty, en'er-gy, lib'er-ty, &c.

1. If we are not fully prepared for war, let the sublime fact be soon exhibited, that a free and valiant nation, with our numbers, and a just cause, is always a powerful nation,-is always ready to defend its essential rights. In the Congress of 1774, among other arguments used to prevent a war, and discourage separation from Great Britain, the danger of having our towns battered down and burnt was zealously urged.

2. The venerable Christopher Gadsden, of South Carolina, rose and replied to it in these memorable words: "Our seaport towns, Mr. President, are composed of brick and wood. If they are destroyed, we have clay and timber enough in our country to rebuild them. But, if the liberties of our country are destroyed, where shall we find the materials to replace them ?".

3. During the siege of Boston, General Washington consulted Congress upon the propriety of bombarding the town. Mr. Hancock was then President of Congress. After General Washington's letter was read, a solemn silence ensued. This was broken by a member making a motion that the House should resolve itself into a committee of the whole, in order that Mr. Hancock might give his opinion upon the important sub

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