NOTE.-When exclamatory sentences become questions they require the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.-What are you saying'!- Where are you going'!

They planted by your care'! No! your oppressions planted them in America'.

THE CIRCUMFLEX OR WAVE.

RULE XI.-Hypothetical expressions, sarcasm, and irony, and sentences implying a comparison or contrast that is not fully expressed, often require a union of the two inflections on the same syllable.

EXPLANATION. In addition to the rising and falling inflections, there is what is called the circumflex or wave, which is a union of the two on the same syllable. It is a significant twisting or waving of the voice, generally first downward and then upward, but sometimes the reverse, and is attended with a sensible protraction of sound on the syllable thus inflected. It is marked thus: (^) as, "I may possibly go to-morrow, though I can not go to-day." "I did it myself, sir. Surprising'! You did it!"

EXAMPLES.-If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner

appear?

I grant you I was down, and out of breath; and so was he.

And but for these vile guns, he would himself' have been a soldier'.

QUEEN. Hamlet', you have your father much offended.

HAMLET. Madam', you have my father much offended.

SHYLOCK. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.

Hath a dog money'? Is it possible a cur can lend two thousand ducats'?

They tell us to be moderate; but they, they are to revel in profusion.

You pretend to reason'? You don't so much as know the first elements of reasoning. NOTE.-A nice distinction in sense sometimes depends upon the right use of the inflections.

EXAMPLES. "I did not give a sixpence'."

"I did not give a sixpence."

The circumflex on sixpence implies that I gave more or less than that sum; but the falling inflection on the same word implies that I gave nothing at all.

"Hume said he would go twenty miles to hear Whitefield preach" (here the circumflex implies the contrast), "but he would take no pains to hear an ordinary' preacher."

"A man who is in the daily use of ardent spirits, if he does not become a drúnkard', is in danger of losing his health and character."

The rising inflection on the closing syllable of drunkard would pervert the meaning wholly, and assert that, in order to preserve health and character, one must become a drunkard.

"The dog would have died if they had not cut off his head."

The falling inflection on died would make the cutting off his head necessary to saving his life.

A physician says of a patient, "He is better'." This implies a positive amendment. But if he says, "He is better'," it denotes only a partial and perhaps doubtful amendment, and implies, "But he is still dangerously sick."

THE MONOTONE.

RULE XII.-The monotone, which is a succession of words on the same key or pitch, and is not properly an inflection, is often employed in passages of solemn denunciation, sublime description, or expressing deep reverence and awe. It is marked with the short horizontal dash over the accented vowel. It must not be mistaken for the long sound of the vowels, as given in the Pronouncing Key.

EXAMPLES.-And one cried unto another, and said, Hōly, hōly, hōly is the Lord of hōsts. The whole earth is full of his glōry.

Blessing, honor, glōry, and power be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever.

In thōughts from the visions of the night, when deep slēēp fälleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling which made all my bōnes to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the fōrm thereof: an image was befōre my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a vōice, saying, Shall mōrtal män be mōre just than Gōd? Shäll a man be mōre pūre than his Māker? IV. PRINCIPLES OF GENERAL APPLICATION.

The first and most important is, “Be sure you understand what you read, and endeavor to express the sentiments of the author as you would express the same if they were your own, and you were talking." No one can read well who does not fully adhere to this principle.

In the second place, those who would excel in reading should cultivate every manly and noble virtue; for no one can fully express noble sentiments unless he feels them. Counterfeit imitations will be detected. In the language of Dr. Blair: "A true orator" (and, we may add, a correct and effective reader) "should be a person of generous sentiments, of warm feelings, and of a mind turned toward the admiration of all those great and high objects which mankind are naturally forced to admire. Joined with the manly virtues, he should at the same time possess strong and tender sensibility to all. the injuries, distresses, and sorrows of his fellow-creatures; a heart that can readily enter into the circumstances of others, and make their case his own."

[NOTE. The small superior figures throughout this book refer to the Elocutionary RULES, of which the sentences thus marked are illustrations. See preceding pages. The small superior letters refer to the definitions at the end of the lesson.]

1. Is not this a beautiful picture'? What a fine, round, healthy, and noble face this child has !10 How bright are his eyes'!" His hair is soft and

curling. How round and full his arms are!" They are almost as white as the driven snow'.

2. Surely, this boy is the very picture of health and childish beauty. His frank and honest face tells us that he is happy. How much we can read in that face! He must have kind parents, who love him dearly.

3. And the young man the stranger, who so kindly takes the hand of this child—has not he a fine face too'?' He speaks gently to the child. You can see that in his very face. We can almost fancy that we hear him speak words of kindness.d He has not an angry look. His face shows that he is a good young man.

4. And what season of the do year you suppose it is? Is it summer', or is it winter? How can you tell'? Do you think the white in the picture is snow? Does it look cold and cheerless there'?1

5. If it were snow, would the boy be barefoot'?' Would his arms be bare'? Would he be without a hat or a cap on his head'? Would there be grass, and leaves, and flowers around him, if it were winter? Would he look so cheerful and happy, if he were standing barefoot in the snow'?'

6. Have you ever heard the cold called pinching cold'? Why do we say it is pinching cold?3 Because severe cold seems to pinch up the face, and the hands, and all the parts that are exposed to the chilly air. Does this boy look as though *he were pinched with cold'? Does not his open, cheerful, sunny face show that it is summer-time'?

7. How plainly good pictures speak to us!" How much they show! How much they may teach us, if we will study them well!" They tell a whole story at once'; and they tell it in such a manner that it always interests us. They tell the story so that we can see it, as well as read it; and what we see we do not easily forget.

8. Children, study the pictures in this book, and they will teach you many a useful lesson. Ask yourselves as many questions about them as you and see how many of them you can answer.

can,

a DRIV'-EN, driven by the wind; drifted. b FRANK, open; candid; undisguised. FAN-CY, imagine; believe.

d KIND'-NESS, good-will; affection.

CHEER'-LESS, dreary; gloomy.

' EX-POSED', laid open, or bare; unprotect. ed.

8 CHILL'-Y, Somewhat cold.

[LESSON I. is designed to show what may be learned from pictures: how much they may suggest to us, etc. Children should be taught to observe closely. The teacher should ask the pupils numerous questions about the pictures, as shown in the foregoing lesson.]

LESSON II.

ACTING A LIE.

1. "Alfred'," how could you tell mother that wrong story?" said Lucy to her brother. "You know you did eat one of the apples that were in the fruit dish; yet you told mother you did not.”

2. "Now, Lucy', I did not tell any falsehood about it at all'. You know mother asked me if I took one of the apples from the dish', and I said No. And that was true'; for the apple rolled off from the top of the dish when I hit the table, and I picked it up from the floor. Mother did not ask me if I ate one', but if I took one from the dish."