3. "And greater sure my merit, who, to gain

A point sublime, could such a task sustain."

As the antecedent and relative are correspondent words, wnich ought both to be distinctly marked, in order to show the precise meaning of a sentence, where the relative only is expressed, the accentual force falls upon it, the antecedent being understood.

EXAMPLES.

1. "Who does the best his circumstance allows,

Does we'll, acts n'obly; angels/ could no mo`re." 2. "Who lives to nature, rarely can be poor; Who lives to fan'cy, ne'ver can be ric^h."

ECHO.

I HAVE adopted this name, says Mr. Walker, for want of a better, to express that repetition of a word or thought, which immediately arises from a word or thought that preceded it. When in narrative or didactic composition, the echoing word is merely pronounced with the rising inflexion, and long pause; but when it implies any degree of passion, as in the following beautiful examples, this inflexion and pause must be accompanied with a high impassioned tone. (For the sake of distinction, the echoing word has been printed in italics.)

1. "Newton was a Christian! New"ton! whose mind burst forth from the fetters cast by nature on our finite conceptions-Newton! whose science was truth, and the foundation of whose knowledge of it was philosophy; not those visionary and arrogant presumptions which too often usu'rp its name, but philo'sophy/ resting on the basis of mathematics, whi'ch, like figures, cannot lie New"ton! who carried the line and rule to the utmost barriers of creation, and explored the principles by whi'ch (no doubt) all created matter is held together and exists."*-Erskine.

*That this seems to be the natural pronunciation of the echoing word, the Editor begs to state, that several years ago, when in the habit of reciting the admirable speech from which the above example is extracted, and long before he became acquainted with Mr. Walker's system, he used to adopt the tone and inflexion here recommended for its pronunciation.

2. "With mysterious reverence' I forbear to descant on those serious and interesting rites, for the more august and solemn celebration of which Fashion nightly convenes these splendid myriads to her more sumptuous temples. Rite's! whi'ch (when engaged in with due dev'otion) absorb the whole soul, and call every passion into e'xercise, (except those indeed of love and peace, and kindness and gentleness.) Inspiringrites! which stimulate fe`ar, rou'se ho`pe, kin'dle ze`al, quicken dul'ness, sha'rpen discernment, ex'ercise m'emory, infla'me curiosity!-Rites! in sho'rt, in the due perform'ance of whi'ch, all the energies and atte`ntions, all the pow'ers and abilities, all the abstraction and exer`tion, all the diligence and devotedness, all the sa'crifice of time, all the contempt of ea'se, all the neglect of sleep, all the oblivion of ca're, all the risks of fo'rtune (ha'lf-of-which, if directed to their tr'ue-objects, would change the very face of the wo'rld), all the'se/ are concentrated to on'e-point; a point", in which/ the wis'e and the we'ak, the learned and the ignorant, the fa'ir and the frightful, the sprightly and the du'll, the ric'h and the poor, the patrician and plebe'ian, meet in one/ co`mmon un'iform equ'ality: an equality, as religiously respected/ in these sole'mnities, in which all distin'ctions/ are levelled at a blow, and of whi'ch/ the very spirit is therefore democr'atical, as it is com'bated in all o`ther-instances."-Hannah More.

*

RHETORICAL PUNCTUATION.

THE following rules are also extracted from Mr. Walker's "Elements of Elocution and Rhetorical Grammar," and cannot fail to prove interesting to the admirer of correct reading.

RULE I.

When a nominative consists of more than one word,—or of one important word-it is necessary to pause after it. slanting line, it will be recollected, indicates the pause.)

(A

*The words "point" and "equality" must also be pronounced with the emphatic rising inflexion, and the word "rites" every time it is repeated, and the pause after it longer.

more emphatical

EXAMPLES.

1. "The dec'ays of ag ́e/ must term'inate in death." 2. "The experience of calamity/ is necessary to a just sense of better-fortune.'

3. "Phil'osophy/ makes us w'iser; Chris'tianity/ makes us bet'ter-men."

4. "The gospel/ is the comforter of the wretched."

Note.-When a sentence consists of a nominative and a verb unattended by adjuncts, no pause is necessary; "Alexander wept."

RULE II.

as,

Whatever member intervenes between the nominative case and the verb, is of the nature of a parenthesis, and must be separated from both of them by a short pause.

EXAMPLES.

1. " Tri'als/ in this state of be'ing/ are the lot of m'an.” 2. "Ho'nest-endeavours/ if perseve'red-in/ will finally be succe'ssful."

3. Disappointments and afflic'tions/-however disagreeable/ -often improve us.

4. "Such is the constitution of men, that virtue/—however it may be neglected for a time/-will ultimately be ackno'wledged and respected."

RULE III.

Whatever member intervenes between the verb and the accusative case, is of the nature of a parenthesis, and must be separated from both by a short pause.

EXAMPLES.

1. "I knew a person who possessed the faculty of distinguishing flavours in so great a perfection, that, after having tasted ten different kinds of tea, he would distinguish-without seeing the colour-of-it/—the particular sort which was offered him.'

2. "A man of a fine taste in writing will dis'cern/-after the same manner/-not only the general beauties and imperfec'tions of an author, but discover the several ways of thinking and expressing himself, which diversify him/ from all o'ther au'thors."

RULE IV.

When two verbs come together, and the latter is in the infinitive mood, if any word come between, they must be separated from the latter verb by a pause.

EXAMPLE.

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind/ to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fo'rtune;
O'r/ to take arms/ against a se'a of troubles,
An'd/ by oppo'sing, en'd-them ?"

Note. When the verb to be is followed by a verb in the infinitive mood, which may serve as a nominative case to it, and the phrases before and after the verb may be transposed, then the pause falls between the verbs: thus, "The greatest misery is to be condemned by our own hearts." "His highest enjoyment was to relieve the distressed."

RULE V.

Nouns in apposition, or words in the same case, where the latter is only explanatory of the former, have a short pause between them, either if both these nouns consist of many terms, or the latter only.

EXAMPLES.

1. "Ho'pe/, the balm of life/, soothes us under every misfortune."

2. "Conte'nt/, the offspring of virtue, dwells both in retir'ement, and in the active-scenes of life."

3. "Solomon the son of Da'vid/, and the builder of the temple of Jerusalem, was the richest mo'narch/ that reigned over the Jew'ish-people."

Note. If the two nouns are single, no pause is admitted; as, "Paul the Apostle ;""King George;" but if the latter consists of many terms, a short pause is necessary; as, "Pa'ul-the ap'ostle of the Gen'tiles;" George-king of Gre`at-Britain," &c.

RULE VI.

Who, Which, when in the nominative case, and the pronoun that, when used for who or which, require a short pause before them.

EXAMPLES.

1. "Death is the se'ason/ which brings our affections to the te'st."

2. " Nothing is in vain/ that rouses the soul: nothing in vai'n/ that keeps the ethereal fire ali've and glo`wing."

3. "A man can never be obliged to submit to any power, unless he can be sa'tisfied/ wh'o is the person/ who has a right/ to exercise it."

Note.-There are several words, usually called adverbs, which include in them the power of the relative pronoun, and will therefore admit of a pause before them: such as when, why, wherefore, how, where, whither, whether, whence, while, till, or until. It must be observed, however, that when a preposition comes before one of these relatives, the pause is before the preposition; and that if any of these words are the last word of the sentence, or clause of a sentence, no pause is admitted before it; as, "I have read the book, of which I have heard so much commendation, but I know not the reason why. I have heard one of the books much commended, but I cannot tell which," &c. It must likewise be observed, that if the substantive which governs the relative, and makes it assume the genitive case, comes before it, no pause is to be placed either before which, or the preposition that governs it.

EXAMPLE.

"The passage of the Jordan is a figure of baptism, by the grace of which, the new-born Christian passes from the slavery of si'n, into a state of freedom/ peculiar to the chosen so'ns of Go'd."

RULE VII.

When that is used as a conjunction, it ought always to be preceded by a short pause.

EXAMPLES.

1. "It is in society o'nly/ that we can relish those pure delicious jo'ys/ which embellish and gladden the life of ma n."

2. "The custom and familiarity of these tongues do sometimes so far influence the expressions in these epi'stles/ that one may observe the force of the Hebrew conjugations