without any regard whether he be heard distinctly or not, or whether he give his words their full utterance, or whether his hearers are impressed with the full sense and meaning of them. This, however, is frequently owing to defect in the organs of speech, or a too great tremulation or flutter of the animal spirits; but oftener to a bad habit which he has not attempted to correct. Demosthenes, the greatest orator Greece ever produced, had, it is said, three natural impediments in pronunciation, all of which he conquered by invincible labor and perseverance. One was a weakness of voice; which he cured by frequently declaiming on the sea-shore, amidst the noise of the waves. Another was a shortness of breath; which he mended by repeating his orations as he walked up a hill. And the other was the fault we are speaking of; a thick mumbling way of speaking; which he broke himself of by declaiming with pebbles in his mouth.

Another fault in pronunciation is, when persons speak too quickly. This method of reading is well enough among lawyers, in examining leases, perusing indentures, or reciting acts of Congress, where there is always a superfluity of words; or in reading a newspaper, where there is but little matter that deserves our attention; but it is very improper in reading books of devotion and instruction, and especially the sacred Scriptures, where the solemnity of the subject, or the weight of the sense, demands a particular regard. The great disadvantage which attends this manner of pronunciation is, that the hearer loses the benefit of half the good things he hears, and would fain remember, but

cannot and a speaker should always have a regard to the memory as well as to the understanding of his hearers.

As it is a fault to speak too quickly, so it is likewise a blemish in elocution to speak too slowly. Some persons are apt to read or speak in a heavy, droning, sleepy way; and, through mere carelessness, make pauses at improper places. This is very disagreeable: but to hem, sneeze, yawn, or cough, between the periods, is much more so. A too slow elocution is most faulty in reading trifles, subjects that do not require much atten tion. It then renders every sentence tedious. A too slow elocution, however, is a fault rarely to be found, unless in aged people, and those who naturally speak so in common conversation: but in these, if the pronunciation be in other respects just, decent, and proper, and especially if the subject be weighty or intricate, it is more excusable, and is frequently overlooked.

An irregular or uneven voice is a great fault in reading or speaking. This happens, when the voice rises and falls by fits or starts, as it is generally termed; that is, when it is elevated or depressed unnaturally or unseasonably, without regard to the sense of the passage and the meaning of the author, or to the points or stops in a just method of punctuation; or in always beginning a sentence with a high voice, and, on the contrary, concluding it with a low one, or always beginning and concluding it in the same key.

Another fault, which may be looked upon as the direct opposite to this, is a flat, dull, uniform tone of voice; without emphasis or cadence, or even regard to the

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sense or subject of what is read or spoken. This is a habit which children, who have been used to read their lessons by way of task, are very apt to fall into, and retain as they grow up. Indeed, it is a great blemish when it becomes habitual; because it deprives the hearer of the greater part of the benefit he might otherwise receive by a close attention to the interesting parts of the subject, which should always be distinguished by the pronunciation for a just pronunciation is a good commentary; and therefore no person ought to read a chapter of the Bible or a Psalm, in public, or a speech in a play, or a poetical extract, before he has carefully read it over himself once or twice in private.

The greatest and most common fault is that of reading or speaking with what is called a tone. There is not any habit more easy to be contracted than this, nor more difficult to be conquered. This unnatural tone in reading and speaking is very various; but, whatever it be, it is always disgustful to persons of delicacy and judgment. Some have a womanish squeaking tone; which persons whose voices are shrill and weak, and overstrained, are very liable to fall into. Some have a singing or canting note: others assume a high, swelling, theatrical tone; and, being ambitious of the fame of fine orators, lay too much stress or emphasis on every sentence, and thereby transgress the rules of true oratory. Some affect an awful and striking tone, · attended with solemn grimace, as if they would move the hearer with every word they utter, whether the weight of the subject bear them out in that method or This is what persons of a gloomy or melancholy

not.

cast of ruind are most likely to fall into. Some have a set, uniform tone of voice, and others an odd, whimsical, whining tone, peculiar to themselves, and which cannot be well described; only, that it is an improper laying of the emphasis on words which do not require or de serve it.

Such are the common faults of a bad pronunciation. We now proceed, in the second place, to point out how a bad pronunciation is to be avoided. And to this end, it will be exceedingly proper that a person should not read in too loud nor in too low a voice. If a person would not read in a voice which is too loud or strong, nor in one that is too low, or faint, or weak, he should consider whether his voice be naturally too low or too loud, and endeavor to correct it accordingly in his daily ordinary conversation; by which means he will be better able to correct it in reading. If his voice be too low, he should converse with those who are hard of hearing; if too loud, with those whose voices are low. He should begin his periods with an even moderate voice, that he may have such a command of it, as to be able to raise or depress it as the subject requires.

In order to cure a thick, confused, cluttering voice, a person should accustom himself, in conversation, reading, and speaking, to pronounce every word distinctly and clearly. He ought to observe with what deliberation some persons converse and read, and how full a sound they give to every word; and closely imitate them. He should never affect to contract his words, as some have done, or run two into one. This may do very well in conversation, or in reading familiar dia

logues, but it is not so decent nor so decorous in grave and solemn subjects; especially in reading the Scriptures, sermons, or extracts from religious books. It appears, from the case of Demosthenes, that this fault of pronunciation cannot be cured without much difficulty, nor will the remedy which he adopted be found effectual without a considerable share of perseverance.

To break a habit of reading or speaking too fast, a person must attend diligently to the sense, weight, and propriety of every sentence he has occasion to read, and of every emphatical word contained therein. This will not only operate as an advantage to himself, but be a double one to those who hear him; for it will at once give them time to do the same, and excite their attention when they perceive the speaker's is fixed. A solemn pause after a weighty thought is not only beautiful but striking. A well-timed cessation or pause gives as much grace to speech as it does to music. Let a person imagine that he is reading to persons of slow and unready conceptions; but he must not measure the hearer's apprehension by his own. If he does, he may possibly outrun it. And, as in reading he is not at liberty to repeat his words and sentences, that should engage him to be very deliberate in pronouncing them, that their sense may not be misconceived or lost. The ease and advantage that will arise both to the reader and hearer, by a free, full, and deliberate pronunciation, is hardly to be conceived. A too slow pronunciation is a fault which very few are likely to fall into.

To cure an uneven, desultory voice, a person should take care that he does not begin his periods either in too