In order to acquire a facility in applying the inflections so as to be able to read fluently according to the notation, the student should accustom himself to repeat a succession of detached words (the list of words in the Appendix to this work will answer his purpose), first pronouncing each word with the upward, then with the downward inflection: then with the downward and upward alternately, &c. This plan is suggested by Mr. Smart; and his remarks on the subject are so just, that I beg leave to present them to my readers ; at the same time strongly recommending the ingenious publication from which they are borrowed, "The Theory and Practice of Elocution," as a most useful manual: "Let it be the student's object to acquire the power of uttering one or other of the inflections at pleasure. This will at first be attended with no slight difficulty: though determined perhaps to use the downward inflection, the idea of continuation will prevail, and cause him to use the other in spite of himself; being sensible of his failure, he will make a second trial, and probably imagine, because he has pronounced the word in a lower or softer tone, that he has altered the inflection: this however does not necessarily follow; for the same inflection may be pitched very high or very low,

and it may be uttered very gently or very forcibly. To avoid these mistakes, use the following form of a question as a test: 'Did I say stránge or strange?' (or whatever may be the word respecting the inflection with which it is uttered a doubt may arise.) By this he will be instinctively impelled to utter the word, first with an upward, then with a downward slide, and to know, by comparison, in which manner he had previously uttered it. After some time the ear will become familiar with the slides, and the test may be laid aside. Having them now entirely at command, he must exercise his voice in carrying them, as far as possible, from one extreme to the other, something in the manner of a singer running the gamut from low to high, and from high to low. Let him also vary their motion, making them sometimes rapid and sometimes slow. Such an exercise on detached words will probably be thought a little ridiculous, but the student may rest confident of its utility. It will not only give him a clear feeling of the tones he ought to use, but will add flexibility to his voice, and remove from it any unpleasant monotony for what is called a monotonous voice is not, in fact, a voice that never gets above or below one musical key, but which is incapable of taking a sufficient com

pass in its inflections." (See Smart's Practice of

Elocution, p. 7.)

Even in calm conversation the inflections may be perceived upon the accented syllable of the most important words, and immediately before pauses. They are generally rendered very perceptible when contradistinction is expressed, and still more so when it is implied; for then the speaker gives emphasis, or particular stress, to some particular word or words, and frequently accompanies it by a peculiar combination of the two inflections upon the same syllable, which combination is denominated the circumflex.

The inflections will be more or less distinguishable according to the nature and degree of passion that is thrown into the discourse. In slow and distinct speaking or reading, they will become clearly observable: so that it is possible, by aid of the notation used in the present system, to describe accurately not only the inflections on the principal words, but every inflection that is adopted by a deliberate speaker. Thus in reading slowly the following sentence, the inflections would by most persons be thus arranged :

Módulation-in spéaking dèsérves-our-attèntion. But though it is possible to mark all the inflections adopted by a deliberate speaker, yet it would

be highly absurd to prescribe what all of them ought to be; because the management of them is seldom so fixed and determinate, especially in long sentences, as to prevent good speakers from differing from each other, though each might convey the intended meaning with clearness and force. Still, however, something important may be accomplished. The principal inflections—i.e., those which are applied to the most important words, may be marked, because as they are distinguished either by some degree of emphasis, or at least by making the less important words subordinate to them, a nearly general agreement will prevail respecting them. Considerable uniformity will also exist with regard to those inflections which are given to the words immediately preceding the principal pauses. It is likewise to be remarked that the inflections thus circumstanced, as well as those on the most important words, are easily distinguished in the public reading of the Holy Scriptures and of the Liturgy. This facility arises partly from the deliberate manner which is required in the delivery of those compositions, and partly from their abounding in short sentences and strong language.

But here an objection may probably be urged: if, as already stated, a general agreement prevails

respecting the principal inflections used to convey the meaning of a sentence, why is instruction on this point required in reading the Liturgy? It is required to counteract the common effects produced by repetition of the same words. However careful a Clergyman may have been at the beginning of his Ministry to ascertain the true meaning of what he may have to deliver, and the best method of conveying that meaning to the hearers, still, by frequent repetition of the same Service, he will almost inevitably fall into a mannerism. There will be great danger of his becoming unmeaning. Whining cadences will be introduced, emphasis will be laid on the wrong words, or accompanied with wrong inflections.

The following notes selected from a larger work published many years ago, are offered to the younger Clergy and the candidates for Holy Orders as a manual which may serve not only to guard them against the too common result arising from the repetition of the Church Service, but may also help to solve doubts as to the best mode of reading any familiar passage so as to convey the meaning with the greatest clearness and force.

The preceding explanation it is hoped will enable most readers to understand the application of the inflections used in the following work. But