to precede the verb, the latter would take the primary accent; as-" The ig’norant to' instruct”—the nee'dy to' relieve"'—the afflicted to com"fort,” &e. The words of each group should be well weighed, and the accents given as the judgement may decide. EXAMPLES OF THE ELEVENTH STAGE. There are instances enough of natural defects - surmounted, and eminent speakers - formed - by indefatigable diligence, - in spite of them. Demosthenes - could not, when he began to study rhetoric, - pronounce the first letter - of the name - of his art, - and - Cicero - was long-necked - and narrow-chested. But diligent - and faithful labour - in what - one is in earnest about, surmounts all difficulties. Yet - we are commonly enough disgusted by public speakers - lisping - and stammering, - and speaking - through the nose, - and - pronouncing the letter Rwith the throat, - instead of the tongue, - and the letter S - like Th, and screaming above, or croaking below - all natural pitch of human voice; - some - mumbling, - as if they were conjuring up spirits, - others - bawling - as loud - as the vociferous venders of provisions - in London streets; - some - tumbling out the wordsso precipitately, - that no ear can catch them ; - others - dragging them out - so slowly, - that - it is as tedious - to listen - to them - as to count a great clock; - some - have got a habit - of shrugging up their shoulders; - others - of see-sawing - with their bodies, - some backward and forward, - others - from side to side ; - some - raise their eyebrows at every third word; - some - open their mouths frightfully; others - keep their teeth - so close together - that one would think - their jaws - were set ; - some - shrivel all their features together - into the middle of their faces; - some - push out their lips, - as if they were mocking the audience; - others - hem - at every pause; and others - smack - with their lips, - and roll their tongues about - in their mouths, - as if they laboured - under a continual thirst. All which bad habits - they ought - to have been cured of - in early youth, - or - put into ways - of life - in which they would have, - at least, offended fewer persons. 'Tis liberty alone - that gives - the flower Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; And we are weeds without it. All constraint Except - what wisdom - lays - on evil men Their progress - in the road - to science ; blinds Where idle wanderers - roam ; But high she shoots - through air - and light, - Where nothing earthly - bounds her flight, Or shadow - dims her way. So grant me, God, - from every stain Of sinful passion - free, Aloft - through virtue's purer air, - No sin to cloud, - no lure to stay Thy freedom on her wings. XII. Simple Relative and Restrictive clauses,—those chiefly which are introduced by Relative Pronouns or Prepositions,—may be added to the oratorical word, when they seem necessary to complete a portion of the sense; as,— "Amu'sement - is' the happiness-of those' that can'not think"." In this stage, the nominative and verb may be united when they occur in secondary clauses, or when they have been previously either expressed or implied in the sentence; and also when the verb precedes its nominative; as'Complaint' - is the lar'gest trib'''ute heav'en receives," - and' the since""'rest part of our devotion." "Can man conceive" - beyond' what God' can do"?" EXAMPLES OF THE TWELFTH STAGE. 66 After the death of Mr M'Cheyne, - there was found upon his desk - an unopened note - from one who had heard his last sermon, to this effect:-" Pardon a stranger - for addressing to you a few lines. I heard you preach - last Sabbath evening, - and - it pleased God - to bless that sermon to my soul. It was not so much - what you said, - as your manner of saying it, - that struck me. I saw in you a beauty of holiness - I never saw before.' This is only one instance - out of ten thousand, - in which - the earnestness of a preacher's manner has secured that attention to his matter which would not otherwise have been paid to it. The power of oratory has its foundations - in the principles of our nature. It is vain to pretend that matter - is, or ought to be, - every thing, and manner. - nothing. Manner is, so to speak. - the harbinger - and herald of matter, - summoning the faculties of the soul - to give audience to the truth to be communicated, and - holding the mind - in a state of abstraction from all other subjects - that would divert the thoughts, and prevent impression. True wit is Nature to advantage dressed,— What oft was thought, - but - ne'er so well expressed ;— As shades - more sweetly recommend the light, So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit. For-works- may have more wit than does them good, 66 Some - dream that they can silence when they will - Implies authority - that never can, And never ought to be, - the lot of man. 'Tis but a night, - a long - and moonless night : Then claps his well-fledged wings, and soars away. TO THE BUTTERFLY. Child of the sun! - pursue thy rapturous flight,- Quaff fragrant nectar from their cups of gold: - Yet, wert thou once a worm,—a thing - that crept On the bare earth, - then - wrought a tomb - and slept. To burst, - a seraph, - in the blaze of day.-ROGERS. We have now ascended from the simplest combinations of words to their highest rhythmical arrangements in clauses: in doing so, we have laid open a series of exercises of the highest utility to students of Elocution. The various stages of the Art of Reading embrace every principle of Rhetorical Punctuation; so that the study of any other system of pausing is by these grouping exercises rendered unnecessary.* Our scheme of Reading-Exercises should be useful, not only to the student of Elocution, but to the ordinary English learner, as an advanced lesson, and a revisal of grammatical principles, which may thus be fixed more practically upon the memory than by the ordinary exercises of the grammar class. With reference to the articulation of the various groups, it may be well to caution the reader, that the words in each group are not to be uttered in such an unbroken and dovetailed connexion as to admit of no separation of the organs from beginning to end; but every principle of distinctness must be attended to. Initial vowels must have a clear commencement, independently of the word before them; final vowels must be kept clear of the word after them; and double articulations, or unfluent combinations, must be distinctly articulated without loss of any of their elements. Besides this verbal articulative nicety, there may be such a farther distinctiveness of utterance as to denote the lesser groups within the greater ones. This need not amount to a pause; the slightest break of vocal continuity will serve the purpose. At the end of each group there should be a decided pause, with such a progression of voice as to indicate clearly whether what is to be next said modifies, or is in any way connected with, what has been uttered;—and in what degree: or, whether what has been said is complete in itself, and independent on what succeeds. In case of Emphasis, words which are here the most closely connected are often separated: a break in the flow of grammatical articulation, being one of the most common and powerful means of expressing emphasis. We subjoin a few passages in illustration of the influence of Emphasis on grouping. They embrace instances of the disjunction of almost every class of words which in the foregoing stages of clausing are united. The figures refer to the different stages. EMPHATIC DISJUNCTIONS. Pleads he in earnest? Look upon his face: His eyes do drop no tears ;-his prayers are jest; His words come from his mouth; ours from our breast; *The Student is referred to the chapter on Modulation for an important and most effective principle of clausular arrangement, which may be considered as a further, and the final stage of Grouping. This corruptible must put on11 - incorruption, and this mortal, must put on11 immortality. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his-humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be, by - Christian - example? Why, revenge! Still it cried, "Sleep no more!" to all the house, "Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor And Nathan said unto David, Thou3 - art the man. Is there no place Left for repentance? None for pardon left? 'Twere well, if here will end The misery: I deserved it, and would bear My own deservings: but this will not serve :— All that I eat, or drink, or shall beget, Is-propagated curse! Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself Are much condemned to have11—an1 itching palm ! Shall I bend low, and, in a bondman's key, |