as in that conveyance, leave the invention of the language of emotion, to man; but impressed it himself upon our nature, in the fame manner as he has done with regard to the reft of the animal world; all of which express their various feelings, by various tones. Ours, indeed, from the fuperior rank that we hold, are in a high degree more comprehenfive; as there is not an act of the mind, an exertion of the fancy, or an emotion of the heart, which has not its peculiar tone, or note of the voice, by which it is to be expressed; and which is fuited exactly to the degree of internal feeling. It is chiefly in the proper use of these tones, that the life, spirit, beauty, and harmony of delivery confift.

The limits of this introduction, do not admit of examples, to illustrate the variety of tones belonging to the different passions and emotions. We shall, however, felect one, which is extracted from the beautiful lamentation of David over Saul and Jonathan, and which will, in some degree, elucidate what has been faid on this fubject. "The beauty of Ifrael is flain upon thy high places: how "are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath; publish it "not in the streets of Askelon: left the daughters of the "Philiftines rejoice; left the daughters of the uncircumcifed "triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew "nor rain upon you, nor fields of offerings; for there the "shield of the mighty was vilely cast away; the shield of "Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oyl." The first of these divisions expresses forrow and lamentation; therefore the note is low. The next contains a spirited command, and should be pronounced much higher. The other sentence, in which he makes a pathetic address to the mountains where his friends had been flain, must be ex pressed in a note quite different from the two former; not fo low as the first, nor fo high as the second, in a manly, firm, and yet plaintive tone.

The correct and natural language of the emotions, is not fo difficult to be attained, as most readers feem to imagine. If we enter into the spirit of the author's fentiments, as well as into the meaning of his words, we shall not fail to deliver the words in properly varied tones. For there are few people, who speak English without a provincial note, that have not an accurate use of tones, when they utter their fentiments in earnest discourse, And the reason that they have not the fame use of them, in reading aloud the fentiments of others, may be traced to the very defective and erroneous method, in which the art of reading is taught; whereby all the various, natural, expressive tones of speech, are suppressed; and a few artificial, unmeaning reading notes, are substituted for them.

But when we recommend to readers, an attention to the tone and language of emotions, we must be understood to do it with proper limitation. Moderation is necessary in this point, as it is in other things. For when reading becomes strictly imitative, it assumes a theatrical manner, and muft be highly improper, as well as give offence to the hearers; because it is inconfiftent with that delicacy and modesty, which are indispensable on such occafions. The fpeaker who delivers his own emotions, must be supposed to be more vivid and animated, than would be proper in the perfon who relates them at fecond hand.

We shall conclude this section with the following rule, for the tones that indicate the pafsions and emotions. "In reading, let all your tones of expression be borrowed " from those of common speech, but, in fome degree, more

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faintly characterised. Let those tones which fignify any "difagreeable pafsion of the mind, be still more faint than " those which indicate agreeable emotions: and, on all oc"cafions, preserve yourselves so far from being affected "with the fubject, as to be able to proceed through it, " with that easy and masterly manner, which has its good " effects in this, as well as in every other art."

SECTION VII.

Pauses.

PAUSES or rests, in speaking or reading, are a total cessation of the voice, during a perceptible, and, in many cafes, a meafurable space of time. Pauses are equally necefsary to the speaker, and the hearer. To the speaker, that he may take breath, without which he cannot proceed far in delivery; and that he may, by these temporary refts, relieve the organs of speech, which otherwise would be foon tired by continued action: to the hearer, that the ear alfo may be relieved from the fatigue, which it would otherwife endure from a continuity of found; and that the understanding may have fufficient time to mark the distinction of fentences, and their several members.

There are two kinds of pauses; first, emphatical paufes; and next, fuch as mark the diftinctions of fenfe. An emphatical pause is generally made, after something has been faid of peculiar moment, and on which we defire to fix the hearer's attention. Sometimes, before fuch a thing is faid, we usher it in with a pause of this nature. Such paufes have the fame effect as a strong emphafis; and are fubject to the same rules; especially to the caution, of not repeating them too frequently. For as they excite uncommon attention

and of course raise expectation, if the importance of the matter be not fully answerable to fuch expectation, they occafion disappointment and difguft.

But the most frequent and the principal use of pauses, is, to mark the divifions of the sense, and at the fame time to allow the reader to draw his breath; and the proper and delicate adjustment of fuch pauses, is one of the most nice and difficult articles of delivery. In all reading, the management of the breath requires a good deal of care, fo as not to oblige us to divide words from one another, which have so intimate a connexion, that they ought to be pro-nounced with the fame breath, and without the leaft separation. Many a fentence is miferably mangled, and the force of the emphafis totally loft, by divifions being made in the wrong place. To avoid this, every one, while he is reading, should be very careful to provide a full fupply of breath, for what he is to utter. It is a great mistake to imagine, that the breath must be drawn only at the end of a period, when the voice is allowed to fall. It may eafily be gathered at the intervals of the period, when the voice is fufpended only for a moment; and, by this management, one may always have a fufficient flock for carrying on the longest sentence, without improper interruptions.

Pauses in reading must generally be formed upon the manner in which we utter ourselves in ordinary, sensible conversation; and not upon the stiff artificial manner, which is acquired from reading books according to the common punctuation. It will by no means be fufficient to attend to the points ufed in printing; for these are far from marking all the pauses, which ought to be made in reading. A mechanical attention to these resting places, has perhaps been

one cause of monotony, by leading the reader to a fimilar tone at every stop, and a uniform cadence at every period. The primary use of points, is to assist the reader in difcerning the grammatical construction; and it is only as a fecondary object, that they regulate his pronunciation. On this head, the following direction may be of use: "Though in reading

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great attention should be paid to the stops, yet a greater "should be given to the fenfe; and their correfpondent "times occafionally lengthened beyond what is usual in "common speech."

To render pauses pleasing and expressive, they must not only be made in the right place, but alfo accompanied with a proper tone of voice, by which the nature of these pauses is intimated; much more than by the length of them, which can feldom be exactly measured. Sometimes it is only a flight and fimple fufpenfion of voice that is proper; sometimes, a degree of cadence in the voice is required; and fometimes that peculiar tone and cadence which denote the fentence to be finished. In all these cafes, we are to regulate ourselves by attending to the manner in which Nature teaches us to speak, when engaged in real and earneft discourse with others. The following fentence exemplifies the fufpending and the closing pauses: "Hope, the balm "of life, fooths us under every misfortune." The first and fecond pauses are accompanied by an inflection of voice, that gives the hearer an expectation of fomething further to complete the sense: the inflection attending the third pause, fignifies that the sense is completed.

The preceding example is an illustration, of the suspending pause, in its fimple state: the following infiance exhibits that paufe with a degree of cadence in the voice: "content cannot remove the disquietudes of mankind', "it will at least alleviate them."

"If