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There is a land || of every land the pride,
Beloved by Heaven || o'er all the world beside
Where brighter suns | dispense serener light,
And milder moons || imparadise the night;
Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,

That land— thy country || and that spot- thy home.

In lines like the following, three cesural pauses are proper. The first and last are very slight, indeed, scarcely perceptible, and are sometimes called demi-cesuras.

True ease | in writing || comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest, || who have learned to dance.
'Tis not enough || no harshness | gives offense,
The sound must seem || an echo | to the sense :
Soft is the strain | when Zephyr | gently blows,
And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows,
But when ❘ loud surges || lash | the sounding shore,
The hoarse | rough verse || should like the torrent roar.
When Ajax | strives || some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labors, and the words move slow.
Not so when swift || Camilla | scours the plain,

Flies | o'er th' unbending corn, || and skims | along the main.

What is the What is its Point it out in

Questions. How many kinds of pauses are used in poetry? Which of them are common to both poetry and prose? Which is used in poetry alone? object of this latter kind? Where is a slight pause generally proper? object? What other pause in poetry is used? What is it called? the examples. What caution is given with regard to its use? When there are three, what are the first and last called?

SECTION VII.

MODULATION.

1. Pitch and Compass.

If any one will notice closely a sentence as uttered in private conversation, he will observe, that scarcely two successive words are pronounced in exactly the same tone. At the same time, however, there is a certain pitch or key, which seems, on the whole, to prevail. This governing note, or key note, as it may be called, is that, upon which the voice most frequently dwells, to which it usually returns when wearied, and upon which a sentence generally commences, and very

frequently ends, while, at the same time, there is a considerable play of the voice above and below it.

This note may be high or low. It varies in different individuals, and at different times in the same individual, being governed by the nature of the subject, and the emotions of the speaker. The range of the voice above and below this note, is called its compass. When the speaker is animated, this range is great; but upon abstract subjects, and with a dull, lifeless speaker, it is small. If, in reading or speaking, too high a note be chosen, the lungs will soon become wearied; if too low a pitch be selected, there is danger of indistinctness of utterance; and, in either case, there is less room for variety of tone, than if one be taken between the two extremes.

On this point, let the following rule be observed.

RULE I.—The reader or speaker should choose that pitch, on which he can feel himself most at ease, and above and below which, he may have most room for variation.

Having chosen the proper key note, he should beware of confining himself to it. This constitutes monotony, one of the greatest faults in elocution. One very important instrument for giving expression and life to thought, is thus lost, and the hearer soon becomes wearied and disgusted.

There is another fault of nearly equal magnitude, and of very frequent occurrence. This consists in varying the tones without any rule or guide. In cases of this kind, there seems to be a desire to cultivate variety of tone, without a knowledge of the principles upon which it should be done. Sometimes, also, there is a kind of regular variation, but still not connected with the sense. A sentence is commenced with vehemence and in a high tone, and the voice gradually sinks, word by word, until, the breath being spent, and the lungs exhausted, it dies away, at the close, in a whisper.

The habit of sing-song, so common in reading poetry, as it is a variation of tone without reference to the sense, is a species of the fault above mentioned.

If the reader or speaker is guided by the sense, and if he gives the emphasis, inflection, and expression, required by the meaning, these faults will speedily disappear.

2. Quality or Expression.

The tones of the voice should vary, also, in quality or expression, according to the nature of the subject. We notice, very plainly, a difference between the soft, insinuating tones of persuasion; the full, strong voice of command and decision; the harsh, irregular, and sometimes grating explosion of the sounds of passion; the plaintive notes of sorrow and pity; and the equable and unimpassioned flow of words in argumentative style. In dialogue, common sense teaches, that the manner and tones of the supposed speaker should be imitated. In all varieties of style, this is equally proper, for the reader is but repeating the language of another, and the full meaning of this cannot be conveyed, unless uttered with that expression which we may suppose the author would have given to it, or in other words, which the subject itself demands.

The following direction, upon this point, is worthy of attention.

RULE II. — The tones of the voice should always correspond with the nature of the subject.

If the following extracts are all read in the same tone and manner, and then read again with the expression appropriate to each, the importance of this point cannot fail to be, at once, perceived.

"Come back! come back!" he cries with grief,
"Across the stormy water,

And I'll forgive your Highland chief,

My daughter! oh, my daughter!"

But thou, Oh Hope! with eyes so fair,
What was thy delighted measure!
Still it whispered promised pleasure,
And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail;
Still would her touch the strain prolong;

And from the rocks, the woods, the vale,
She called on Echo still through all her song;
And where her sweetest theme she chose,

A soft responsive voice was heard at every close;
And Hope, enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair.

Brackenbury. Why looks your grace so heavily to-day?
Clarence. O, I have passed a miserable night,

So full of fearful dreams, of ugly sights,

That, as I am a Christian, faithful man,
I would not spend another such a night,
Though 't were to buy a world of happy days,
So full of dismal terror was the time.

Then came wandering by

A shadow, like an angel, with bright hair
Dabbled in blood; and he shrieked out aloud:
"Clarence is come; false, fleeting, perjured Clarence;
That stabbed me in the field by Tewksbury :
Seize on him, furies, take him to your torments!"

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire,

And shook his very frame for ire,

And, "This to me?" he said,

"An 'twere not for thy hoary beard,

Such hand as Marmion's had not spared
To cleave the Douglas' head!
E'en in thy pitch of pride,

Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near,

I tell thee, thou'rt defied!

And if thou said'st, I am not peer

To any lord in Scotland here,
Lowland or Highland, far or neal,

Lord Angus, thou hast lied!"

In our attempt to imitate nature it is important to avoid affectation, for, to this fault, even perfect monotony is preferable.

3. Improvement of the Voice.

To improve the voice in the particulars which have been named, practice is necessary. To increase its compass or range of notes, commence, for example, with the lowest pitch the voice can comfortably sound, and repeat whole paragraphs and pages upon that key. Then rise one note higher, and practice on that, in the same way, then another note, and so on, until the highest pitch of the voice is reached. The strength of the voice may be increased in the same way, by practicing with different degrees of loudness, from a whisper to full rotundity, taking care to keep the voice on the same key. The same note in music may be sounded loud or soft. So, also, a sentence may be pronounced on the same pitch with different degrees of loudness. Having practiced with different degrees of loudness on one key, make the same experiment on another,

and then on another, and so on. It will be found, that the voice is capable of being changed and improved by exercise and practice to a much greater degree than is generally supposed.

Questions.-What is meant by the key note? Is this the same at all times, and in all individuals? What circumstances cause it to differ? What is meant by compass of voice? Under what circumstances is this range great? When is it small? If too high a key note be selected, what is the consequence? If the note be too low, what danger is there? What is the rule on this subject? What is monotony? What are the evils arising from this fault? What other faults of tone are mentioned? What manner of reading poetry is mentioned? How are these faults to be corrected? What is said with regard to varying the tones in quality or expression? What is said of the reading of dialogues, &c.? Repeat the second Rule? What must be guarded against in attempts to imitate nature? How may the voice be improved in compass? How, in strength?

For the purpose of illustrating more fully the preceding Directions for Reading, a few EXERCISES are appended, in which the inflections are marked.

On Lying.

I really know nothing more criminal', more mean', and more ridiculous', than lying'. It is the production either of malice', cowardice', or vanity'; and generally misses of its aim' in every one of these views'; for lies are always detected' sooner or later. If I tell a malicious lie, in order to affect any man's fortune or character', I may indeed injure him for some time`; but I shall be sure' to be the greatest sufferer at last; for as soon as I am detected', (and detected I most certainly shall' be,) I am blasted for the infamous attempt'; and whatever is said afterward to the disadvantage of that person', however true', passes for calumny`.

If I lie or equivocate', (for it is the same thing',) in order to excuse myself for something that I have said or done', and to avoid the danger or the shame that I apprehend' from it, I discover, at once, my fear', as well as my falsehood'; and only increase`, instead of avoiding the danger and the shame'; I show myself to be the lowest and meanest of mankind', and am sure to be always treated as such.

Remember, as long as you live', that nothing but strict truth can carry you through the world', with either your conscience or your honor unwounded'. It is not only your duty', but your interest: as a proof of which you may always observe', that the greatest fools' are the greatest liars'. For my own' part, I judge, by every man's truth', of his degree of understanding

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