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not, strictly speaking, a series, may yet be considered as a simple commencing series.

That the above is the most eligible mode of reading this passage, will be evident, if we only try it with a different set of inflections. Suppose that it were read thus:

For I am persuaded,

that neither death nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,

powers,

nor things present, nor things to come,

nor height, nor depth,

nor any other creature,

shall be able to separate us, &c.

or with rising inflections throughout, who is there with ear so ill attuned as not to perceive, that by this mode of reading the whole force and spirit of the passage are lost?

The following are other examples of the mixed series :

Hence strife, clamour, and tumult,

Care, suspicion, and fear,

danger and trouble,

sorrow and regret,

do seize upon the reviler, and he is constantly punished

for this dealing.-Barrow.

The distribution of oceans, seas, and rivers,
the variety of fields, meadows, and groves,

the luxuriance of fruits, herbs, and flowers,

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the return of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, not only regular in their approaches, but bringing with them presents, to make their return desirable, the pleasant vicissitudes of day and night,

all have a voice, which, by telling man that he is constantly receiving favours, reminds him that he should be ready to bestow them.-Dyer.

Although the falling inflection is in general the best adapted to the compound series, it must yet be observed that, where the sense of the sentence does not require any particular force, precision, or distinction, where the sentence commences with a conditional or suppositive conjunction, or where the language is plaintive and poetical, the rising inflection is more suitable. This will be evident from the following example:

Behold him first when the days are come in which nature has no pleasure. At this comfortless season, when the freezing blood almost forgets to flow, and the frigid fancy has no more colours left, to lay on surrounding things; when all the glow and spirit of existence is gone; when the summer is ended; when

the sun shines faintly upon the scene; when the leaves fall off from the bowers of delight, and all the bloom

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and splendour of human life are for ever over; in this cold and naked winter of his days, the upright man is warmed by genial thoughts, that repel the damps, that cheer and cherish his heart, and supply the absence of animal ardour.-Fawcett.

In this passage the falling inflection is placed on flow and delight, for the sake of melody, as being the last words of the first member of a commencing series of two.

CHAPTER IV.

QUANTITY.

THE third accident of speech is Quantity. In a grammatical sense, when applied to syllables, quantity is the relative value of sounds in duration of time; but when it is applied to the rhythm of speech, it refers not only to the distinction of longer and shorter syllables or notes, but also to the distinction of longer or shorter pauses or rests.

This accident of speech must be carefully distinguished from what is commonly called accent, but which would more properly be denominated syllabic emphasis, that is, the force or stress which is laid on one syllable of a word above the rest; for, although it is most commonly the case that what is called the accented syllable is also the longest, there are innumerable instances in which it is not. Thus the vowel a in banish, banner, and banter, has the syllabic emphasis, but it is a short sound; while, on the other hand,

* "Unaccented syllables are generally short, as admire, boldness, sinner. But to this rule there are many exceptions, as álsō, éxile, gángrēne, úmpire, fóretāäste, &c." MURRAY'S Grammar, Pt. IV. Ch. I. § 2.

in the words paper, taper, vapour, it both has the syllabic emphasis, and is long. So the i is short in misery, middle, mistress, and long in miser, minor, mitre, though all these words are equally accented on the first syllable; and the same holds good of the rest of the vowels.

In pronouncing a long vowel or a diphthong the voice dwells for some time upon it, and is long in joining it in pronunciation with the succeeding letters, as fall, bale, mood, house, feature. In pronouncing a short vowel, the voice scarcely dwells at all on it, but proceeds quickly to join it to the succeeding letters; as, ant, bonnet, hunger.

It must not, however, be supposed, that any language can be spoken under so confined a proportion of quantity as a long and a short syllable. Although it may be convenient for practical purposes, to speak of the time of syllables or of pauses, being either long or short, there are, in fact, no less than eight different degrees or proportions of quantity. To adopt the terms of music, the longest of these proportions may be called the Semibreve, the long one the Minim, the short one the Crotchet, and the shortest the Quaver; and as each of these may be lengthened by half itself, we have eight in the whole.

The length of the Semibreve, or longest quantity, is equal to the time of pronouncing such words as, aim, fame, roam, moan, &c., as they

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