Questions of real inquiry imply the interrogator's entire ignorance of the subject. They are generally of the declarative, common, pronominal, or adverbial form.

Questions of belief imply various degrees of knowledge, on the subject of inquiry: that knowledge being frequently inferred, from collateral reasons and circumstances, declared, or intimated in the context. They are generally negative in their construction; but may have other forms.

The triumphant question, is the highest degree of the question of belief: and is generally negative.

Figurative questions,- to which however the imperative is an exception,― denoting a full and positive belief on the part of the interrogator, are included under the present head of Exclamatory sentences; and call for the downward intervals, or the wave, such as I now proceed to show proper Exclamations require.

Many exclamations may be regarded as elliptical sentences. The design of these broken phrases is to give a quick and forcible representation of thought or feeling: and as this is done with a brevity of style, which sometimes might not clearly convey the sentiment, it is necessary to employ the additional means of intonation. And hence arise the structure and the characteristic expression of Exclamation.

The shortest exclamatory, like the shortest interrogative sentence consists of a monosyllabic word; and this may be any of the parts of speech, if perhaps we except the article, conjunction and preposition; the interjection being the most common. And here we have the power of intonation in the strongest light; for thus it seems to be the art of speaking, almost without words. From the monosyllable, exclamations vary in extent through degrees of the ellipsis, to the full syntax of a sentence: though the greater part are abbreviations by the haste of passion. Exclamations might then be arranged according to their structure, as grammatically imperfect, or as complete. I shall class them according to their sentiments.

When it is said, exclamatory sentences generally, if not always, bear the falling intervals or the wave, it must be understood that the extent of the interval is in proportion to the force

of the sentiment. Thus the following interjective reflection, from its moderate temper, might require no more than the direct wave of the second on 0, and the triad of the cadence, on the remaining three syllables.

O withered truth!

While the energetic emphasis of Hamlet's revengeful exclamation at the atrocity of the King,

O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!

should receive the deep and forcible descent of the octave.

Of the many kinds of exclamatory sentences, I shall only notice, the Admiring, the Plaintive, the Scornful, and the Imperative; since these illustrate the several forms of intonation required by this impressive class of phrases.

The Admiring Exclamation. Admiration is an earnest approbatory sentiment, felt at new and elevated perceptions or thoughts. Now, the newness of objects or of our thoughts upon them, involves in a degree, the sentiment of inquiry as to their nature and cause; and thus seems to call for the use of the rising intervals. But this sentiment has not quite the force, requiring a verbal or a vocal question: while, at the same time there is in the character of Exclamation, a positive conviction of the rare importance of the object of Admiration. It is from embracing these two sentiments, that the admiring exclamation calls for the direct wave or union of the rising and the falling interval; the positive character of the exclamation, by the downward course of the last constituent, predominating over whatever sentiment of inquiry may be indicated by the previous rise. Let us take as an example, the following description of the assembling of the fallen Angels at Pandemonium.

So thick the airy crowd

Swarm'd and were straightened; till the signal given,

Behold a wonder!

Here the syllables hold and wond require the direct wave of the fifth, and by their indefinite quantity freely admit of it.

The Plaintive Exclamation. It was shown in the nineteenth section, in what manner a plaintive interrogation may be made,

by the junction of the semitonic expression with the wider upward intervals. The plaintive exclamation is produced by the rise of the semitone continued into the descending third, or fifth, or octave, according to the force of the sentiment; thus constituting a direct wave of unequal intervals. The direct wave of the semitone and fifth is the proper intonation, for the accented syllables of the following plaintive exclamation of Macduff:

O Banquo, Banquo,

Our royal master's murdered!

The Scornful Exclamation. It was said in the thirty-first section, that Scorn according to its degree, is expressed by the simple rise or fall of the wider intervals, or by the various forms of the wave, when made with an aspirated or a guttural voice; the lighter degrees of expression, or the simple rise and fall being appropriate to the sneer; and the stronger, consisting of the wider waves, to the deepest contempt and execration. Now when such sentiments are contained within short emphatic sentences, they require what is here called the Scornful Exclamation; as in the following, from the Merchant of Venice.

Bassanio. This is seignor Antonio.

Shylock. How like a fawning publican he looks!

The sentiment of this last line will be properly expressed, if the syllables in italics receive the unequal wave of the rising fifth and falling octave, under a slight degree of guttural aspiration; and the rest of the sentence, the falling fifth, with the like aspiration.

Other

The Imperative Exclamation. An imperative sense universally requires a downward interval, or a direct wave. functions, such as stress, aspiration, and guttural grating, to be spoken of hereafter, serve to mark the degrees of force or authority in the command. The following exclamation of Macbeth to the Ghost of Banquo, requires the downward fifth or octave throughout; according to the degree of energy the speaker may think appropriate to it.

Hence horrible shadow,
Unreal mockery hence!

We need not pursue this subject further. Exclamations are but forcible expressions; and there may be as many kinds as varieties of feeling and thought. Thus every mental energy and passion may be found in discourse, under the exclamatory form. Let others define and divide them. Perhaps the nomenclature, and examples here given, may assist the work of inquiry and classification: and when hereafter, Elocution shall be raised into a Science, and so cease to be, at least in intonation, a mere animal instinct; all those things in the art, that can be to me but subjects of hopeful imagination, may, in the fulness of knowledge, be accomplished by others.

Upon the subject of Interrogation and Exclamation, it is to be remarked, that in some cases, emphatic distinction may require the use of a downward interval or a direct wave, among the rising intervals of interrogation; and a rising interval, among the downward concretes and direct waves of exclamation. The contrasts of intonation in such instances, constituting one of the characteristics of what is called emphasis, or an impressive designation of single words.

SECTION XXXIII.

Of the Tremor of the Voice.

IF the reader has borne in mind the explanations in the first section of this essay, he must be aware that the forms of pitch thus far described are, severally, phenomena of the concrete, the discrete, and the chromatic scales. He has now to learn the means of expression derived from the Tremulous scale.

This scale consists of a rise and fall through the whole compass of the voice, by a more delicate exercise of that particular vibration in the throat, called in common language, gurgling.

Although the Tremor has always. been known as a vocal function, its nature is here first analyzed, and its use and management in speech, described.

In our first section there is a general account of the Tremulous scale. We must now be more particular.

It has been shown, that every effort of the voice is necessarily through the radical and vanishing movement: and that the audible characteristic of the several intervals of the scale may be distinctly recognized, even on the shortest immutable syllables.

Since then each of the tonic and subtonic elements does, even in its shortest time, always pass through the concrete, it follows that, however quickly successive any one of them may be repeated, each impulse must be a concrete interval. When therefore the tremor is made on any of the above named elements, either alone or in syllabic combination,- and in this last case, it is heard only on the single element; - the successive constituent impulses of that tremor must each consist of an abrupt radical, and of a rapid concrete of some one interval of the scale. Let us for more precise description, call these impulses, or iterations, the Tittles. Thus the tremulous scale is made up of a succession of Tittles, each of which, like the common syllabic impulse, has its radical, and its concrete pitch. Taking the name of the interval as a designation, there may be a tremor of the semitone, second, third, fifth, and octave. That is, the concrete pitch of each successive tittle may rapidly rise or fall through those intervals respectively. In this case, the tittles are supposed to be continued on the same line of radical pitch, the vanishes rising therefrom to their required hights; but it is easy to understand that while an iteration of these vanishes is going on, through any concrete interval, the radical pitch of these vanishes may, in its iterations, be carried upward or downward through the whole compass of the voice. In this tremulous scale, we have Abruptness as an independent Mode; constituting, with the feeblest voice of pitch, the whole matter of the function; and suggesting, no more the common idea of Force, than an immutable syllable suggests the idea of Time, or a point, the idea of a line. This change of radical pitch in