ing in knowledge, we shall not be sparing of exertion."'Slight' rising inflection, as when the voice is suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted: "When the visitor entered the room" *** *

Note. The last mentioned inflection, may, for distinction's sake, be marked as above, to indicate the absence of any positive upward or downward slide, and, at the same time, to distinguish it from the intentional and prolonged level of the 'monotone.'

'FALLING' INFLECTION, intensive', or bold and low downward slide, as in the tone of anger and scorn: "Down, soothless insulter !"-The 'full', falling inflection, as in the cadence at a period: "All his efforts were in vàin."

The 'moderate' falling inflection, as at the end of a clause which forms complete sense: "Do not presume on wealth; it may be swept from you in a moment." "The horses were harnessed; the carriages were driven up to the door; the party were seated; and, in a few moments, the mansion was left to its former silence and solitude."

The suspensive', or slight falling inflection, as in the members of a 'series', or sequence of words and clauses, in the same syntactical connexion: "The force, the size, the weight, of the ship, bore the schooner down below the waves." "The irresistible force, the vast size, the prodigious weight of the ship, rendered the destruction of the schooner inevitable."

The 'suspensive' downward slide, is marked as above, to distinguish it from the deeper inflection at the end of a clause, or of a sentence.

TABLE OF CONTRASTED INFLECTIONS.

The Rising followed by the Falling.

1. "Will you gó, or stay?"

2. "Will you ríde, or walk?”

3. "Did he travel for health, or for pleasure?"

4. "Does he pronounce correctly, or incorrectly?"
5. "Is it the rísing, or the falling inflection?"

The Falling followed by the Rising.

1. "I would rather gò than stáy."
2. "I would rather walk than ríde."
3. "He travelled for health, not pléasure.'
4. "He
He pronounces correctly, not íncorrectly."
It is the falling, not the rising inflection."

5. "

EXAMPLES OF CIRCUMFLEX.

Tone of Mockery. "I've caught you, then, at last!"

Irony. "Courageous chief!-the first in flight from pain!" Punning. "And though heavy to wêigh, as a score of fat

sheep,

He was not, by any means, heavy to sleep."

EXAMPLE OF MONOTONE.

Awe and Horror.

"I could a tale unfold whose lightest wōrd
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their sphēres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to pārt,

And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine."

Rules on the Rising Inflection.

RULE I. The intensive' or high rising inflection, expresses surprise and wonder.—Example. “Há! laugh'st thou, Lo-. chiel, my vision to scórn?"

RULE II. The moderate' rising inflection takes place, where the sense is incomplete, and depends on something which follows.-Ex. "As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the díal-plate, so we cannot always trace our progress in knowledge."

Note. Words and phrases of address, as they are merely introductory expressions, take the moderate rising inflection.' -Example 1. "Fríends, I come not here to talk.”—2. “Sír, I deny that the assertion is correct."-3. "Sóldiers, you fight for home and liberty!"

Exception. In emphatic and in lengthened phrases of address, the falling inflection takes place.-Example 1. "On! ye brave, who rush to glory or the grave!"-2. "Sòldiers! if my standard falls, look for the plume upon your king's helmet !"*-3. "My friends, my fóllowers, and my children! the field we have entered, is one from which there is no retreat." -4. "Gentlemen and knights,-commoners and sòldiers, Edward the Fourth upon his throne, will not profit by a victory more than you."

RULE III. The 'suspensive', or slight rising inflection, occurs, when expression is suddenly broken off, as in the following passage in dialogue.

* Shouting tone.

Ex. Poet. "The poisoning dåme-Friend. You meanP. I don't. F. You do."

Note. This inflection, prolonged, is used in the appropriate tone of reading verse, or of poetic prose, when not emphatic, instead of a distinct rising or falling inflection, which would have the ordinary effect of prosaic utterance, or would divest the expression of all its beauty.

Ex. 1. "Here waters, woods, and winds in concert join."
2. "And flocks, woods, streams around, repose and peace
impart."

3. "The wild brook babbling down the mountain's side;
The lowing herd; the sheepfold's simple bell;
The pipe of early shepherd, dim descried
In the lone valley; echoing far and wide,
The clamorous horn, along the cliffs above;
The hollow murmur of the ocean tide;
The hum of bees, the linnet's lay of love,*

And the full choir that wakes the universal grove."

4. "White houses peep through the trees; cattle stand cooling in the pool; the casement of the farm-house is covered with jessamine and honeysuckle; the stately greenhouse exhales the perfume of summer climates."

RULE IV. A question which may be answered by Yes or No, usually ends with the rising inflection.-Example. "Do you see yon cloud?"

Exception. Emphasis, as in the tone of impatience, of extreme earnestness, or of remonstrance, may, in such cases as the above, take the falling inflection.-Example. "Can you be so infatuated as to pursue a course which you know will end in your rùin!"—" Will you blindly rush on destruction?"—" Would you say so, if the case were your own?”

RULE V. The penultimate, or last inflection but one, is, in most sentences, a rising slide, by which the voice prepares for an easy and natural descent at the cadence.-Example. "The rocks crumble, the trees fàll, the leaves fáde, and the grass withers."

Exception. Emphasis may sometimes make the penultimate inflection fall, instead of rising; as the abruptness of that slide gives a more forcible effect.-Example. "They have rushed through like a hurricane; like an army of ld

*The penultimate inflection of a sentence, or a stanza, usually rises, so as to prepare for an easy cadence. See RULE V.

custs, they have devoured the earth; the war has fallen like a water spout, and deluged the land with blood."

Rules on the Falling Inflection.

RULE I. The intensive, downward slide', or 'low', falling inflection, occurs in the emphasis of vehement emotion.-Example. "ON ON! to the just and the glorious strife!"

RULE II. The 'full' falling inflection usually takes place at the cadence, or close, of a sentence.-Example. "No life is pleasing to God, but that which is useful to mankind."

Exception. When the meaning expressed at the close of one sentence, is modified by the sense of the next, the voice may rise, instead of falling.-Examples. "We are not here to discuss this question. We are come to act upon it.""Gentlemen may cry 'peace, peace!' But there is no peace."

RULE III. The moderate' falling inflection occurs at the end of a clause which forms complete sense, independently of what follows it.-Example. "Law and order are forgòtten: violence and rapine are abroad: the golden cords of society are loosed."

Exception. Plaintive expression, and poetic style, whether in the form of verse or of prose, take the 'slight' rising inflection, in its prolonged form.

Example 1. "Cold o'er his limbs the listless languor grew; Paleness came o'er his eye of placid blue;

Pale mourned the lily where the rose had died;

And timid, trembling, came he to my side."

2. "The oaks of the mountains fall: the mountains themselves decay with years; the ocean shrinks and grows again; the moon herself is lost in héaven ;* but thou art for ever the same, rejoicing in the brightness of thy course."

RULE IV. The suspensive', or slight falling inflection, takes place in every member but one of the series', or successive words and clauses, connected by the same conjunction, expressed or understood.

Note 1. A succession of words is termed a 'simple series', -a succession of clauses, a 'compound series.' A succession of words which leave sense incomplete, is termed a commencing series', that which leaves complete sense, a 'concluding series'.-A commencing series' is read with

6

* Rising slide, for contrast to the following clause.

the 'suspensive', or slight falling inflection, on every member but the last; a concluding series, with the 'suspensive' slide on every member, except the penultimate, or last but one.

Examples. Simple Commencing Series': "The air, the earth, the wáter, teem with delighted existence." Simple Concluding Series '; " Delighted existence teems in the air, the earth, and the water."-Compound Commencing Series': "The fluid expanse of the air, the surface of the solid earth, the liquid element of water, teem with delighted existence."- Compound Concluding Series': "Delighted existence teems in the fluid expanse of the dir, the surface of the solid éarth,* and the liquid element of water."+

Exception 1. Emphatic, abrupt, and disconnected series, may have the 'moderate' or the 'bold' downward slide, on every member, according to the intensity of expression.

Examples: 1. "His succèss, his fàme, his life, were all at stake."-2. "The roaring of the wind, the rushing of the water, the darkness of the night, all conspired to overwhelm his guilty spirit with dread."-3. "Eloquence is action, nòble, sublime, godlike action."-4. "The shore, which, but a few moments before, lay so lovely in its calm serenity, gilded with the beams of the level sun, now resounded with the roar of cannon, the shouts of battle, the clash of arms, the curses of hatred, the shrieks of agony."

Exception 2. Light and humorous description, gives the 'moderate' upward slide to all the members of a series.

Example. "Her books, her músic, her pápers, her clothes, were all lying about the room, in 'most admired disorder.'"

Exception 3. The language of pathos, (pity,) tenderness, and beauty,-whether in verse or prose,-takes the ' suspensive', or slight rising inflection, except in the last member of the 'commencing', and the last but one of the 'concluding' series', which have the usual 'moderate' rising inflection. Ex.: 1. "No mournful flowers, by weeping fondness laid, Nor pink, nor róse, drooped, on his breast displayed." 2. "There rapt in gratitude, and joy, and love,

The man of God will pass the Sabbath noon."

3. "There, (in the grave,) vile insects consume the hand of the artist, the brain of the philosopher, the eye which

* 'Penultimate' rising inflection, preparatory to the cadence, or closing fall of voice, at the end of a sentence.

'Full' falling inflection, for the cadence of a sentence.