46. R. When the letter r precedes the vowel, the trilled form is used (run, bride, drum, strength, drive, primary, generosity); when it succeeds the vowel, the smooth form is used (mar, storm, world, mercy, superb, observed); but when r terminates a word, and the ensuing word begins with a vowel, the r is looked upon as preceding a vowel, and trilled accordingly (nor all your arts).

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47. U. The vowel u being diphthongal, should never

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be sounded 00; 'it is not your dooty to call on the dook on Toosday.'

48. Wind as a noun, both in verse and prose, is now pronounced wind, except for the sake of rhyme, when it may be pronounced open, as in the verb to wind:

'Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude.'-As you Like it, ii. 7.

49. That as a demonstrative, either adjective or pro

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noun, has the sound of a in at; as a relative or conjunction, neutral:

He said that that that that man said was false.

50. Vulgarisms. To confuse vowel sounds (sich for such, jest for just), to omit the soft r (hawse for horse), to insert an r between vowels (the law-r- of the law), to omit vowels (blief for belief, punshment for punishment), to omit consonants (cloze for clothes, persiss for persists, goverment for government), to omit h when it ought to be sounded (the 'air of the 'ead), to pronounce h where it ought not to be sounded, or to insert it before vowels (the hour of h-eight), to say singin for singing— may not unjustly be deemed vulgarisms.

PART II.

THE SONANT PROPERTIES OF SPEECH.

HAVING enumerated the vowel and consonant sounds, we shall now show how they serve as the groundwork for the display of the properties of TUNE, RHYTHM, and QUALITY.

SECTION I.

TUNE.

51. Sentences Spoken and Written.-A sentence, say grammarians, is a collection of words making complete sense. When merely written, the same sentence may, however, be capable of more than one meaning. But when spoken, there will be in the utterance a TUNE, and this tune is one of the causes determining which of those meanings the speaker wishes to convey.

This tune is produced by the combined agency of-
Pitch,

Inflection, and
Modulation.

52. Pitch. A note sounded on a stringed musical instrument is called 'high' or 'low' according to the number of vibrations made in a given time by the

string producing it. And a sound produced by the human voice is 'high' or 'low' according to the number of vibrations made in its production by the chords of the glottis. The 'height' or 'lowness' of the initial sound produced by a speaker determines its PITCH.

Musicians mark differences of pitch by the positions of the initial sounds on what is called the Scale, and notate them by symbols on the Stave, called notes.

The student should gain, either from the voice of a master or from a musical instrument, the power of distinguishing these differences, and of technically referring them to their position on the scale and stave. For unless the ear be thus exercised, it is next to impossible by theory alone to distinguish the multiform and delicate variations in the pitch of the speaking voice.

53. Inflection.-In singing, each sound continues for a sensible or appreciable time on the note on which it begins; and if the voice passes to another note, that new note, whether higher or lower, is reached by a distinct leap. In speaking, however, the voice never dwells for a sensible time on the same note; but is always passing from a higher note to a lower, or a lower to a higher; and makes these passages by insensibly minute intervals. The technical term for these passages from note to note, or vocal slide, is INFLECTION. Inflections are

1. Simple, and

2. Compound.

54. A Simple Inflection consists of a single slide of the voice in either an upward or a downward direction; and is, therefore

1. Rising, or

2. Falling.

The rising inflection is marked thus; the falling thus \.

55. The Length or Extent of an Inflection is determined by the interval traversed on the musical scale, as in the following:

Notation of Simple Rising and Falling Inflections.

Semitone

Fifth

Tone, or second

Octave

Third

Do not let the student confound the length of an inflection with a musical interval.

Between

and

is a

voiceless

space;' but between the extremities of an inflection

traversing the same interval

as in

pronouncing the ejaculation EH?, there is a continuity of sound. And the same may be said of all intervals.

56. Moreover, Elocution is a Mind-directed, Music an Ear-directed, Art.-Although the musical terms semitone, tone, third, fifth, and octave are used to indicate the varying lengths of inflection, the elocutionist practically measures these intervals by none of the accuracy employed by the musician. The fact is that no two readers read a sentence with precisely identical inflections, and possibly no one reader himself ever reads the same sentence alike on two different occasions. The inflections are not regulated by any musical system,

nor need they necessarily accord with any exact interval of the musical scale. Thus whilst strong emotion calls for the interval of an octave, that octave will not unfrequently fall to a seventh, or rise to a ninth, as the mind of the speaker feels the language. An interval in music is bound by an exact line of demarcation; and any deviation from this line is instantly recognised by the ear, and the singer is said to sing 'false,' or 'out of tune.' But the inflections of speech do not strike the ear with the effect of musical notes. An inflection may be said to be 'true' if it justly denotes the intention of the speaker. There is no other test of its propriety.

57. The mere Difference between the Simple Rising and Falling Inflections may be made obvious by contrasting a question with its answer:

Do you

know? No.

Did you say, 'yes'? Yes.

Or the two parts of an alternative question :

Pale or red ?

To be, or not to be?

The practice of the following table will also serve to initiate the pupil into this general distinction of simple rise and fall.

58. Table of Questions and Answers for ascertaining Inflections on Syllables:

1. Did he say ale, or ale? He said ale, not ale.

2. Did he say arm, or arm? He said arm, not arm.

3. Did he say all, or all?

4. Did he say at, or at?
5. Did he say air, or air?

He said all, not all.
He said at, not at.
He said air, not air.