mind forward over the ideas which are immediately to succeed. Thus no idea comes upon him unexpectedly, however great may be the surprise with which his audience hear it. A habit of thus "thinking in the pauses" must be acquired before a reader can possess any power of artistic expression.

Nervousness, bashfulness, and inexperience, tend to hurried utterance; and frequent practice in reading before an audience seems to be the only method whereby those may be overcome: yet much may be done by fortifying the mind with the considerations suggested under the Third Principle. The following simple directions have been found invaluable by many whose extreme nervousness distressed them. Make a few, full, slow, silent respirations before beginning; use the nostrils and on no account the mouth in inspiration, and keep the chest inflated as if to receive a stroke on it. Stand firmly, but not stiffly. Begin low in pitch and speak slowly, articulating the consonants very distinctly.

INFLEXION.

The general principles which regulate the inflexion of the voice are easily understood and applied.

In no utterance of the voice in speech is there a perfect monotone; and according as the tone rises or falls, it expresses different ideas.

Continuity of thought or feeling expresses itself in a near approach to monotone.

Change of thought or feeling expresses itself in variety in tone.

The rising inflexion expresses incompleteness of statement, admiration or appreciation, question, appeal, or entreaty. The falling inflexion expresses completeness

of statement, command or assertion, contempt or depreciation.

The union of a falling and rising inflexion (called the rising circumflex), expresses insinuation, warning or suspicion.

The union of a rising and falling inflexion (called the falling circumflex), expresses sneering, sarcasm, or reproach.

Although it is well for the advanced student to make himself familiar with all the many wonderful discoveries regarding the inflexions of the human voice, he is earnestly advised not to depart from the preceding principles even after such progress in the study of Elocution. No amount of thought or knowledge, regarding the proper kind of inflexion to be used in a particular place or passage, will ever be so effective as simply calling up vividly the idea to be expressed, and keeping that idea only before the mind, while uttering the words.

Under this Natural System of Elocution, it is not merely a vocal, but a mental training which is desiderated. Every one uses elocution when under strong feeling or some other impelling power, and the Art of Elocution enables us to use it upon all occasions by so disciplining the mind, that the least command which it sends to the vocal organs shall be obeyed.

PRONUNCIATION.

Though there is no printed standard of English Pronunciation, the laws which govern it are now so well ascertained that any given word can be determined with approximate certainty. There seems to be a very prevalent belief that pronunciation is fixed by "The Dictionary," and in any question of orthöepy it is often imagined

to be a conclusive argument in support of a particular pronunciation to say that it is so marked in-"the dictionary". Now, no dictionary has ever been admitted as an absolute standard, and the fact that they differ so widely from each other is proof enough that they have no claim to supreme authority.

Pronunciation is determined by

I. The USAGE of good society-the usual sound given by educated people-not in one particular district, but throughout the country.

II. ANALOGY. There are many words in which custom varies. In these cases the pronunciation must be settled by analogy. For example-either, neither, is variously pronounced as ither, nither, and ether, nether. Custom cannot therefore determine. Derivation says that the ei is Saxon and not the Greek e, and that e ought to be the sound; but Analogy says that height, sleight, heigh-ho, and eider, are pronounced as ī, therefore it is allowable to say ither, nither.

III. DERIVATION. Where Custom and Analogy cannot determine, an appeal must be made to Derivation. For instance, the word frontlet must be sounded fruntlet, because it is derived from front which is nearly always pronounced frunt. Custom and analogy would make the first syllable of raillery, ral, but the derivation from the French raillerie determines the pronunciation as răl.

IV. PERSPICUITY. To avoid confusion, verbs and nouns the same in form are differently accented, as collect and collect. For the same reason such words as Rome, dome, are now pronounced differently from room and doom.

V. EUPHONY. Analogy and Derivation have sometimes to give way to case of utterance. The word pro

nunciation is a good example of this. In spite of all other laws, the greater ease and harmony of sound gained by avoiding the repetition of sh, have fairly established the use of see over she in this word. Association and enunciation are still, however, pronounced she, because these words are related to associate and enunciate in which there is no necessity to change the she, as there is no similar sound in the word. In short, the word pronunciation can break away from the double sh, and it does so, while the other words are tied to it by their verbs.

VI. Orthöepists, poets, and dictionaries affect in some mcasure the pronunciation of words, and especially of new words.

The following few rules will be found useful for determining the pronounciation of words which may seem exceptional:

1. Compound and derivative words generally shorten the long vowel of their primitives, as-Christian, Christmas, heroine, vineyard, Michaelmas, breakfast, forehead, meadow, primer, knowledge, nothing, simony, shepherd, zealous, nătural, părentage, glòbular, pătronage, săcrament, &c.

2. Verbs are distinguished from nouns when similar in form by the use of vocality instead of breath sound in the termination, thus

Verb-vocal-advise, use, grease, house, mouth, excuse,

refuse, premise, sacrifice, &c. Practice and practise are exceptions, and are pronounced alike.

3. The letter o when under the accent and followed by m, n, v, or th, very frequently takes the sound of in rub, as also sometimes before r and , as-comfort,

company, among, mongrel, monger, ton, tongue, covet, covenant, oven, other, mother, brother, pother, t'other, doth, love, glove, dove, &c.; dozen, cozen, borough, attorney, thorough, &c.

4. In a final unaccented syllable o is pronounced as u in up-Mammock, cassock, method, pistol, custom, author, carrot, parrot, &c.; also in final on, sion, and tion, as, tendon, bludgeon, syphon, million, champion, centurion, occasion, nation, &c.; tion and sion final are pronounced shun.

5. In the final unaccented syllable on preceded by c, k, d, p, s, t, or z, the o is suppressed, as bacon, pronounced bāk'n-beacon, deacon, beckon, pardon, capon, prison, reason, season, poison, crimson, person, lesson, cotton, blazon, &c. Exceptions.-Unison, diapason, horizon and weapon; where nt or xt precedes on, as wanton and sexton; and sometimes after It, as in Stilton, Wilton, Melton, and Milton. In these exceptions on is pro

nounced un.

6. In a final unaccented syllable el must always be pronounced distinctly, as in rebel, chancel, model, angel, gospel, apparel, lintel, gravel, bowel, &c. The exceptions are shekel, weasel, ousel, navel, ravel, snivel, hazel, easel, shrivel, swivel, drivel, shovel, and grovel.

7. In a final unaccented syllable e before n, not preceded by a liquid, should generally be suppressed; as, harden, garden, burden, bounden, roughen, taken, shapen, sharpen, open, chosen, lighten, wheaten, heathen, strengthen, burthen, smitten, begotten, graven, eleven, heaven, leaven, given, cloven, brazen, flaxen, &c.; and in the compounds, gardener, burdensome, &c. The tas well as the e is silent in-hasten, chasten, fasten, listen, glisten, christen, moisten, often, and soften. Even after a liquid, e is sometimes suppressed, as in fallen, stolen,