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Where eastern priests in giddy circles run,
And turn their heads to imitate the sun.

The dome's high arch reflects the mingled blaze.
We sail in tempests down the stream of life.
The brightest joy oft melts into a tear.

6. R followed by a consonant; as, rm, rn, &c.

The soft sound of r, whicn it should have when preceded by a vowel element in the same syllable, is improperly dropped before a consonant, or, at least, perverted in the utterance. Thus morn is mispronounced mawn; whereas the or should sound as in nor. First is miscalled fust; whereas the ir should have the sound of er in her. In each of these instances the r is entirely lost. Be careful to sound the r.

Worse, worst, purse, warm, warmer, storm, reform,
reforming, horse, arms, armed, arts, hearts, parts.
We worship the pilot that weathered the storm.
Then discord sounds alarms,

Earth echoes, and the nations rush to arms.
There the best of men were treated like the worst.
Thus the loud burst of cannon rends the skies.

7. Ldz, ndz.

When d is preceded by or n, and followed by the sound of z, it is often imperfectly uttered, and sometimes entirely dropped. To correct this fault, utter the syllable first without the sound of z; then with a slight separation between d and z, and finally together till the d can be distinctly heard.

Hands, ends, commands, commends, sounds, gilds, folds, yields, wilds, moulds, bands, sands, minds, winds, thousands, demands.

Friends, kindred, comfort, all are gone.

Hushed now are the whirlwinds that ruffled the deep.
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame.
On this foundation Fame's high temple stands :
Stupendous pile! not reared by mortal hands.
For us the spring unfolds her flowers.
Weave fresh the garlands of life for me.
The darkest scene hope gilds with light.

8. Shr.

The element sh before r is mispronounced, as if written without an h. This can be remedied by sounding sh fully before joining it with the r. As in shrill, sound sh clearly; then join with rill. Do this more and more rapidly till they are

uttered together.

Shrill, shrub, shrine, shriek, shroud, shrug, shrink, shrunk, shrank, shrive.

To his eyrie has shrunk the gray forest eagle,

And the shriek of the panther is heard on the gale.
From shrub and plant arose the sweet perfume.
The bat, shrill shrieking, wooed his dusky mate.
While o'er him fast through sail and shroud
The wreathing fires made way.

9. Ess.

In unaccented ess, the e, instead of its short sound, as in met, is improperly pronounced like short i. Be careful not to over do in giving e its proper sound.

Darkness, laziness, careless, carelessly, greatness, wilderness, ceaseless, restless, hopelessly.

Ah, whither now are fled

Those dreams of greatness? those unsolid hopes
Of happiness? those restless cares?

One rose of the wilderness was left on its stalk.
This kind, this due degree

Of blindness, weakness, Heaven bestows on thee.

10. Ow like ō, and ows like ōz.

The unaccented termination ow is often mispronounced, as if written er or uh, and ows like erz or uz. In the following examples, guard against this error, but be careful not to overdo.

Window, windows, shadow, shadows, fellow, fellows, hollow, mellow, widow, to-morrow.

Deep shadows veiled the trodden path.

Billows are murmuring on the hollow shore.

Who now would wish to stretch this narrow span.
They end with sorrows, as they first begun.

REMARKS.

All the other vocal requisites for giving emphasis or meaning to language, such as inflection, tone, pitch, pause, force, quantity, &c., making a complete system of elocution, with practical illustrations, will be found in the two higher books of the series the North American First and Second Class Readers.

While the teacher is respectfully referred to the above-mentioned books, a few exercises are here given, that he may use them as examples for illustration, whenever any pupil needs drilling upon a particular point, either to overcome some difficulty, or the better to bring out the entire sentiment of the author.

INFLECTION.

1. The simple suspension of the voice, or slide of only one note, may be observed in counting

óne, two, thrée, four, five, six.

Here the several numbers are uttered with a slight rising slide indicating that something more may be expected. The last number, six, has a downward slide, denoting a close, and showing that the counting is finished.

TABLE OF SLIDES.

2. á, é, í, ó, ú- à, è, ì, ò, u.

Utter the above vowels with a slide of one note, then with the slide of a third, then of a fifth, and finally of an octave, or as nearly so as the pupil can. Do the same with the following table of slides.

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The pupil will observe that the intensity or earnestness of the question or assertion depends on the length of the slide.

4. Did he rún, or walk?

Does he pronounce correctly, or incorrectly?
He speaks correctly, not incorrectly.

What is done cannot be undone.
You should not say áll, but well.

There is a difference between give and forgive.
That we may die happily, we must live well.
To say the least, they have done wrong.
We procéed because we have begun.

Let the pupils simultaneously repeat this and the other tables; then individually, till they can execute and recognize the different slides.

CIRCUMFLEXES.

The voice, in nearly all emphasis, makes a compound movement, called the circumflex, which is a union of the two slides.

The rising circumflex begins with the falling and ends with the rising slide on the same syllable. The fall is seldom so great as the rise.

The falling circumflex begins with the rising d ends with the falling slide; but the fall is greater than the rise.

5. Table of Rising Circumflexes.

ă, ĕ, i, o, u.

Let the pupil utter each very slowly, prolonging the sound, that he may notice the movement of his voice; then more rapidly. Let him do the same with the following

6. Table of Falling Circumflexes.

â, ê, î, ô, û.

7. In the following sentence, utter the question with a strong rising circumflex on you, and it will convey the sneer intended in the context. Irony in a question requires the rising circumflex.

To mediate for the queen? You undertook?

8. Prolong the circumflexes, and give them great rise and fall, and you will convey the irony intended.

O, but he paused upon the brink!

9. The following sentence requires the circumflexes to be uttered almost with laughter, as though the idea was too ridicnlous to excite any other feeling.

We never tried to cope with Jămes Õ, nô..

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10. In the following, to give the surprise indicated in the context, a succession of words must be emphasized by means of the rising circumflex.

What, Michael Căssio,

That came a-wooing with you?

11. Here is a fine instance of two on one word, conveying the irony most perfectly.

Hear him, my lord; he's wondrous condescênding.

MONOTONE.

Monotone is a succession of words uttered on the same note, or nearly so; the slide, if any, being less than the one note usually employed in mere suspension.

Hail, hōly light, offspring of Heaven first born.

Let the pupil prolong the vowel sounds in the words indicated, taking care to keep them pure and in the same tone.

12. Table of Vowels.

ā, ē, i, ō, ú.

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