fo loud as to be heard by thofe about you, but no louder. 6. Obferve your paufes well, and never make any, where the fenfe will admit of none. 7. Humour your voice a little according to the fubject. 8. Attend to thofe who read well, and endeavour to imitate their pronunciation. 9. Read often before good judges, and be thankful when they correct you. 10. Confider well the place of the emphafis in a fentence, and pronounce it accordingly. By emphafis is meant a ftronger and fuller found of voice, by which we distinguish the accented fyllable of fome word, on which we defign to lay particular stress, and to fhow how it affects the rest of the fentence. Sometimes the emphatic word must be diftinguifhed by a particular tone of voice, as well as by a stronger accent. On the right management of the emphafis, depends the whole life and spirit of every difcourfe. If no emphasis be placed on any words, not only is difcourfe rendered heavy and lifeless, but the meaning left often ambiguous. If the emphafis be placed wrong, we pervert and confound the meaning wholly. To give a common instance; such a simple question as this, "Do you ride to town to-day?" is capable of no fewer than four different acceptations, according as the emphasis is differently placed on the words. words. If it be pronounced thus: Do you ride to town to-day? the answer may naturally be, No; I fend my fervant in my ftead. If thus: Do you ride to town to-day? Answer, No, I intend to walk. Do you ride to town to-day? No, I ride out into the fields. Do you ride to town to-day? No; but I fhall to-morrow. In like manner, in folemn difcourfe, the whole force and beauty of an expreffion often depend on the accented word; and we may prefent to the hearer quite different views of the fame fentiment, by placing the emphasis differently. In the following words of our Saviour, obferve in what different lights the thought is placed, according as the words are placed, "Judas, betrayeft thou the Son of Man with a kifs?" Betrayeft thou-makes the reproach turn, on the infamy of treachery. Betrayeft thou-makes it reft, upon Judas's connection with his Mafter. Betrayeft thou the Son of Man-refts it, upon our Saviour's personal character and eminence. Betrayeft thou the Son of Man with a kiss-turns it upon his proftituting the fignal of peace and friendship, to the purpose of a mark of destruction. CHAP. XC. THERE ON READING VERSE. HERE are two ways of writing on any fubject, namely, in profe, and in verse. Profe is the ufual method of writing, without any confinement to a certain number of fyllables, or ranging the words in any peculiar form, which, on the contrary, verfe requires. The words in verfe must be ranged fo, as that the accent may naturally fall on fuch peculiar fyllables as make a fort of harmony to the ear. This is called metre, that is, measure. When two.or more verfes, near to each other, are made to end with the fame or the like found, it is called rhyme. There is another fort of verfe, which has no rhyme, called blank verfe, the words whereof are generally difpofed in metre, fo as that the accent may fall on every second, fourth, and fixth fyllable; and on the eighth, tenth, and twelfth alfo, if the lines are fo long. The following verfe of ten fyllables may serve for an example; The monarch fpóke, and stráit a múrmur rófe.” But But our poetry allows of great and frequent variation from this rule, especially in the first and fecond fyllables of the line; as in the verfe which rhymes with the former, where the accent is upon the first fyllable : "Loúd as the fúrges when the témpest blóws.” There are two forts of metre which vary from this rule; one of them is when the line contains but feven fyllables, and the accent lies on the first, third, fifth, and seventh; as in the following: "Cóuld we, which we never cán, ་་ Beaúty like a fhádow fliés, "And our youth befóre us diés." The other fort has a hafty found, and requires an accent on every third fyllable; as for example: " "Tís the voice of the flúggard; I hear him com "pláin, "You have wák'd me too foón, I must flúmber "again." In reading verse you are to pronounce it just as if it were profe, obferving the ftops with great exactness, and giving each word or fyllable its due and natural accent; but with these two restrictions, 1. Though L 5 1. Though there be no ftop at the end of a line, make a finall pause (less than after a comma) before you begin the next. 2. If any word in the line has two founds, give it that which is most fuitable to the rhyme and metre. To favour the metre, for inftance, the word glittering must fometimes be pronounced as three fyllables, and fometimes as two, glitt'ring. And, upon the fame account, the word avenue may have the accent either upon the first syllable or the fecond; avenue or avénue. Of poetry there are various kinds. Paftoral poetry describes a fhepherd's life, or that of rural nymphs and fwains. Elegy is a mournful poem, or funeral fong. The Pindaric ode, fo called from its inventor Pindar, is a fort of poetry which confifls of loofe and free numbers, and unequal measures. Satire is a free, jocofe, witty, and fharp poem, feverely inveighing against vice, and all corrupt manners and perfons. Comedy is an agreeable imitation of the actions, humours, and customs of common life. Tragedy reprefents, and acts over again, the calamities of illustrious men and women. The Epic or Heraic poem, is an interesting relation of fome illuftrious and important actions of the hero celebrated in the poem; as the great exploits of Achilles in the Iliad of Homer, and |