are addressed to the people only, ought to be uttered in quite a different manner from that which suits the Confession, the Lord's Prayer, and the other parts of the public ritual which are addressed to God. The voice must be so managed as plainly to signify so marked a distinction that even the most heedless people may understand when the Minister speaks to them, and when to their Maker."-Dr. Bennett's Paraphrase.

In delivering the Sentences, the reader should remember that every one of them (with the exception, perhaps, of the third and ninth) ought to end with the downward inflection, which implies that the meaning is complete. Many Clergymen scarcely ever adopt it in reading the conclusion of a sentence, though in speaking they employ it quite in accordance with the usage of society, on which usage the rules of writers on elocution are founded. (See Rule I.)

When the wicked man, &c.]-The antithetic construction adopted in this sentence requires considerable care in the application of the inflections and pauses, in order to convey the meaning with clearness. When the wicked mán' turneth away from the wickedness-that-he-hath-committed, and doeth that which is lawful and ríght, he shall save his soul alive.'

To the Lord our God, &c.] In this sentence another instance occurs (according to Rule XXII.) of an inflection being continued over several words. On the repetition of the words 'the Lord our God,' in the second member of this compound sentence, they pass under the inflection given to the word ' voice;' thus: Neither have we obeyed the voice-of-the-Lord-our-God, to walk in his laws which he set befòre us.'

The termination ed in the past tenses and participles is in general distinctly sounded in reading the Holy Scriptures and the Church Services. The practice is supposed to be one means of forming a dignified distinction between the language used in divine worship and that of ordinary conversation. Besides, as the antiquated terminations est and eth must be retained, consistency requires that ed should be retained. The exception, according to Walker and other writers, is when ed is preceded by a vowel: thus they recommend its suppression in justified, glorified, buried, &c. This exception is admitted for the evident purpose of preventing the hiatus of the vowels. For this reason the exception should extend to verbs ending with y or w, when those letters are sounded as vowels or dipthongs: as in strayed, obeyed, flowed, sowed, owed, viewed, renewed. It must, however,

be noticed that if the accent does not immediately precede the w, that letter seems to acquire the power of a consonant: thus in the word hallowed, in the Lord's Prayer, the general ear seems to require that it should be pronounced hallo-wed, which forms a very smooth trisyllable, very easy to be pronounced when followed by a pause, or by a word that receives an accent, as is the case in the Prayer- hallowed bé thy nàme.'

Enter-not into júdgment, &c.]—Notwithstanding Mr. T. Sheridan's remarks, this sentence is still frequently read thus: Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord' the conclusion naturally to be expected would be, but enter into judgment with those who are not-thy-servants.' The writer's subsequent comment is excellent: "Enter not into judgment, i.e., the severity of judgment, with thy servant; for in thy-sight, which is all-piercing and can spy the smallest blemishes, shall nò màn living be justified-no man on earth; no, not the best, shall be found perfect, or sufficiently pure to stand the examination of purity itself."

-he is faithful and just, &c.]-In reading the second member of the concluding sentence the practice is sometimes adopted of substituting the word God for He.' This appears to be a

violation, if not of the letter, at least of the spirit of the 14th Canon. As there is no antecedent to 'He,' the sentence may be used with most propriety after one of the preceding sentences in which the word God, Lord, or Father' occurs.

THE EXHORTATION.

When the Exhortation and other parts of the Service addressed to the congregation are delivered with no more reference to the Book than is required to prevent hesitation, the manner of the Minister generally becomes much more natural, easy, animated, and impressive.

Dearly beloved brethren.]-If the downward inflection is adopted in pronouncing brethren,' followed by a considerable pause, the address would imply, ‘Dearly beloved brethren, give me your attention,' or something to that effect. Such a mode of commencing a solemn address is adopted in our courts of judicature; and it may likewise be observed in those highly-finished specimens of elegant and dignified reading which are now heard from the throne.

The introductory Sentences are examples of the 'sundry places in which the Scripture moveth us to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness before the face of Almighty God, with a lowly, penitent and obedient heart.' All this might

refer to private worship. But the Exhortation proceeds to add that we ought most chiefly so to do,' i.e., to confess, when we assemble and meet together for public worship. At first sight the words 'before the face of Almighty God' may appear to signify the more immediate presence of the Deity in public worship, and therefore to require strong emphasis. This meaning, however, cannot be intended; for the duty of a public acknowledgment is reserved for notice in the following sentence: 'Although we ought at all times to acknowledge our sins before God, yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together,' &c. Therefore the expression before the face of Almighty God' signifies no more than before Almighty God'—¿vúπiov →ɛoũ—and refers to confession in our private devotions.

The climax in the subsequent words, 'an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart,' requires a progressive increase of force to be used in pronouncing them. And in the clause which follows, the meaning requires that the inflection on forgiveness should be carried over the three succeeding words, thus: forgiveness-of-thesame,' pronouncing them as if they formed only one word.

-by his' infinite goodness and mercy.]—" These