emphases, we soon learn to pay little regard to them. To crowd every sentence with emphatical words, is like crowding all the pages of a book with Italic characters, which, as to the effect, is just the same as to use no such distincions at all.

PAUSES.

Rule 7.-Relieve your voice at every stop; slightly at a comma, more leisurely at a semicolon, still more so at a colon, and completely at a period. But support your voice steadily and firmly, and pronounce the concluding words of the sentence with force and vivacity, rather than a languid cadence.

Pauses are not only necessary to enable the reader or speaker to take breath without inconvenience; but in order also to give the hearer a distinct perception of the construction and meaning of each sentence, and a clear understanding of the whole.

In all reading, and public speaking, the management of the breath requires a good deal of care, so as not to oblige us to divide words from one another, which have so intimate a connection, that they ought to be pronounced with the same breath, and without the least separation. Many sentences are greatly injured, and the force of the emphasis totally lost, by the divisions being made in the wrong place. To avoid this, every one, while he is speaking or reading, should be careful to provide a full supply

of breath for what he is to utter. It is a great mistake to imagine that the breath must be drawn only at the end of a period. It may easily be gathered at the intervals of the period, when the voice is only suspended for a moment; and, by this management, one may always have a sufficient stock for carrying on the longest sentence without improper interruption.

Pauses in reading and public discourse, must be formed upon the manner in which we express ourselves in ordinary sensible conversation; and not upon any stiff artificial manner which is sometimes acquired.

Practise the following examples of the various pauses.

Sentences divided by a Comma.

Prosperity gains friends, and adversity tries them.
Sincerity and truth, form the basis of every virtue.
No knowledge can be attained, but by study.

By the faults of others, wise men correct their own. Be more ready to forgive, than to return an injury. When our vices leave us, we flatter ourselves we leave them.

If you would be revenged on your enemies, let your life be blameless.

Disappointments and distress, are often blessings in

disguise.

It is wiser to prevent a quarrel before-hand, than to revenge it afterwards.

Sentences divided by two or three Commas.

They who have nothing to give, can often afford relief to others, by imparting what they feel.

Ingratitude is a crime so shameful, that the man was never yet found, who would acknowledge himself guilty of it.

As you value the approbation of heaven, or the esteem of the world, cultivate the love of virtue.

Be armed with courage against thyself, against thy passions, and against flatterers.

Riches, honours, pleasures, steal away the heart from religion.

Forget not, that the brightest part of thy life is nothing but a flower, which withers almost as soon as it has blown.

Prepare for thyself, by the purity of thy manners, and thy love of virtue, a place in the happy seats of peace.

Sentences divided by several Commas.

The external misfortunes of life, disappointments, poverty and sickness, are light in comparison with those inward distresses of mind, occasioned by folly, by passion and by guilt.

Every leaf, every twig, every drop of water, teems with life.

In the least insect there are muscles, nerves, joints veins, arteries and blood.

Luxury, pride, and vanity, have much influence in corrupting the sentiments of the great.

Ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice, have much influence in corrupting the opinions of the multitude.

The earth is adorned with a beautiful variety of mountains, hills, valleys, plains, seas, lakes, rivers, trees, flowers, plants, and animals.

Human society requires distinctions of property, diversity of conditions, subordination of ranks, and a multiplicity of occupations, in order to advance the general good.

The astonishing multiplicity of created beings, the wonderful laws of nature, the beautiful arrangement of the heavenly bodies, the elegance of the vegetable world, the operations of animal life, and the amazing harmony of the whole creation, loudly proclaim the wisdom of the Deity.

Sentences divided by a Semicolon.

Blame not before thou hast examined the truth; understand before thou dost rebuke.

Make a proper use of your time; for the loss of it can never be retrieved.

A friend cannot be known in prosperity; and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.

Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.

Enjoy pleasure; but enjoy it with moderation.

Sport not with pain and distress; nor use the meanest insect with wanton cruelty.

Envy not the appearance of happiness in any man; for you know not his secret griefs.

The book is well written; and I have perused it with pleasure and profit.

Sentences divided by several Semicolons.

The shadow of knowledge passeth over the mind of man as a dream; he seeth as in the dark; he reasoneth; and is deceived.

The wisdom of God is as the light of heaven; he reasoneth not; he is the fountain of truth.

Every thing grows old; every thing passes away; every thing disappears.

Every seed contains in it a plant of its own species; this plant another seed; this seed another little plant; and so on without end.

Some men are intent upon gathering riches; others endeavour to acquire reputation and honour; a third sort are devoted to their pleasures; and a few are engaged in the nobler pursuits of learning and wisdom.

Sentences divided by a Colon.

Apply thyself to learning: it will redound to thy hon

our.

Read the Scriptures: they are the dictates of divine wisdom.

Fear God: he is thy creator and preserver.

Do not insult a poor man: his misery entitles him to pity.

All mankind want assistance: all therefore ought to assist.

A tear is sometimes the indication of a noble mind: Jesus wept.

A talkative man is a nuisance to society: the ear is sick of his babbling.

The tongue of the sincere is rooted in his heart: hypocrisy and deceit have no place in his words.

Paragraphs divided by several Periods.

Beware of the seducing appearances which surround you. Recollect what others have suffered from the power of headstrong desire. By any passion your inward peace will be impaired. But any which has the taint of guilt, will ruin your tranquillity.

Every man has some darling passion which generally affords the first introduction to vice. Irregular gratifications are cautiously indulged in the beginning. But the power of habit grows. One vice brings in another to its aid. By a sort of natural affinity they entwine themselves together. Their roots come to be spread throughout the soul.

Truth is the basis of every virtue. It is the voice of reason. Let its precepts be religiously obeyed. Never transgress its limits. Every deviation from truth is criminal. Abhor a falsehood. Let your words be ingenuous. Sincerity possesses the most powerful charm. It acquires the veneration of mankind. Its path is security and peace. It is acceptable to the Deity. Blessed are the pure in heart.

THE VOICE.

TONES AND INFLECTIONS.

Attention to the tones and inflections of the voice is as essential in oratory, as the tuning of an instrument is in music. There are four modifications of the voice in speaking, namely: the Monotone, the Rising Inflection, the Falling Inflection, and the Circumflex.

The Monotone is a sameness of sound on successive syllables or words, without any inflection of the voice, and may be represented by a horizontal line, thus -.

The Rising Inflection turns the voice upward, and makes it end on a higher note than it be