The Group is sometimes called 'the oratorical word', or, 'sense word', because in general it is, or should be, spoken consecutively, all in one, like the cluster of syllables in such a word as unintelligibility. It is often desirable to magnify a whole phrase, so that each important word is a minor group in the larger group of the phrase. For instance: The-whole-wide-world cannot produce his fellow. From-end-to-ênd, Ʌfrom-cliff-to-làke, 'twas free! b. Sometimes we itemize, by pause, stress, quantity, and inflection, thus constituting each significant word a minor group; at the same time, combining and aggregating them into the larger group, by pitch progression, inflectional and melodic, and symmetrically distributed force, that is usually, though not always, cumulative; as, C. He is a fústy, músty, crústy, crábbéd óld bachelor! Sometimes each word is so strongly itemized by inflection, stress, and pause, that, for the moment, it seems final and complete in itself; and yet, by right pitch progression and graduation of force, the series is aggregated into a unit; as, Re-morse-less, treach-er-ous, lech-er-ous, kind-less villain! In the haste and carelessness of colloquial speech, two or three groups are often run together into one, with detriment to clearness. In reading and public speaking, it is better to group too carefully, to sprinkle pauses too profusely, than to invoke blur and confusion, by making groups too few and too long. Frequent pauses mean, not only greater clearness of presentation, but frequent opportunities to renew the breath supply; a secret which, if thoroughly acted upon, would cheat the doctor and the graveyard of many a premature victim from the ranks of public speakers. AN EXAMPLE OF SENTENTIAL GROUPING. One great! end to which all knowledge' ought to be employed, is the welfare of humanity. Every sciencel is the foundation of some art beneficial to men; and while the study of it leads us to see the beneficence' of the laws of nature, it calls upon us' also' to follow the great' end of the Father of nature, in their employment and application. Note, first of all, that there are about three times as many pauses as punctuation marks; and were we to follow the modern and often perplexing fashion of sparse punctuation, the disproportion would be still greater. Moreover, if these sentences were delivered with earnest emphasis, before a large audience, the pauses would naturally be longer and more numerous than in a parlor or class room reading. There would properly be pauses after, or holds upon, 'all,' the first 'is,' 'see,' 'great,' and 'Father.' The opening phrase, ‘one great end,' if read with simple clearness, would have perceptible extension of quantity-that is, the hold, on 'one' and 'great', but no cessation of voice; while the serious purpose to impress would employ both quantity on the words and a well-marked pause after each. 'SQUINTING CONSTRUCTIONS.' The grouping pause is frequently indispensable in clearing up obscurities of syntax. Take the line from Milton,- Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold. As it stands, 'barbaric' squints. Whether 'barbaric' qualifies 'kings' or 'pearl and gold', the reader should decide, and indicate his decision by a well-marked pause before or after 'barbaric. If no pause is made, or if an equal pause is made before and after, confusion remains confused. So in the following, again from Milton:- Evil, be thou my good; by thee at least 'at least,' by a careless, unobservant reader, would be grouped with 'thee', simply because it follows immediately and in the same line. The careful reader quickly perceives that ‘at least' has scarcely more than expletive value, if grouped with 'thee'; and a glance shows him that the poet intended 'at least' to be construed as qualifying the following word, 'divided.' This intention cannot be vocally conveyed, without a marked pause between 'thee' and 'at least', and none, or the briefest, between 'at least' and 'divided.' The prices in these stores (at which only canal employees are allowed to trade) are from twenty-five to fifty per cent. cheaper than in neighboring native stores. For lack of a comma, the bracketed clause is ambiguous. Does it mean that the employees must restrict their purchases to 'these stores'; or that none other than employees may buy there? Punctuation is useful, only as it serves to indicate the thought boundaries of phrase, clause, sentence, etc., enabling the eye to recognize them at a glance. It is essential in cases like this, for it would prevent the hesitation that arises from the doubtful relation of 'only.' A comma after 'which' would have indicated the proper grouping and made but one interpretation possible. THE PAUSE OF EMPHASIS. Besides its importance in giving clear presentation to sentential structure, the pause-before, or after, or before and after, emphatic words-enhances their significance. The pause before excites anticipation, suspense, surmise. After a word or phrase, especially if it is enforced by strong falling intonation, the pause holds the listener's mind upon the thought just spoken. If too many words are so specialized, the fault of overemphasis is committed, and the rhythm becomes jolting and labored. 1. GROUPING: ANALYSIS OF EXAMPLES. This majestic reach of river contained pools, streams, rushing shelves, and waterfalls innumerable; and when the water was low, which it now was in the common drought, it was easy to walk up this scene, with the calm blue sky overhead, an utter and sublime solitude. In this example-from Christopher North-'innumerable' qualifies 'pools, streams, rushing shelves', as well as 'waterfalls.' To make this clear in the reading, 'innumerable' must be separated from the noun next it by a well-timed pause. This principle is of wide application. The intention will be made more evident, if the itemizing pauses of the series of nouns be purposely shortened, massing the nouns. closely, thus: pools, streams, rushing/shelves,and waterfalls in numerable. Here the single bars are used to indicate the division into. rhythmical measures, the pauses being marked by the musical rests. If you question my interpretation, and prefer to restrict 'innumerable' to 'waterfalls', how shall you make your de cision unmistakable? By itemizing very distinctly the first three members of the series, followed by a wide pause, and then massing 'waterfalls innumerable', thus: pools, streams, rushing|shelves, 717 and waterfalls in numerable.l A judicious use of pause, melody, and inflection is necessary, too, to avoid affirming that the person walking up the scene thereby himself becomes 'an utter and sublime solitude.' That is the notion that the average reader-the heedless one-actually does convey, if his reading is to be taken as 'meaning what it says.' 2. He causes the banner to be erected, the charge to be sounded, the soldiers at a distance to be recalled,-all in a moment. 'All in a moment' is intended to cover all three of the clauses. Each clause is followed by a rather long grouping pause, and necessarily; so that, upon 'recalled', at the end of the third clause, we must superadd the disjoining effect of a strong falling intonation; or the distributive intention of 'all in a moment' will not be made unmistakable. The principle involved, is the same as in the case of 'innumerable', in the preceding example; but the separation needs stronger enforcement than the pause alone could give. 3. There is not a moment of the day in which the same sun is not rising, shining in his zenith, and setting on the world. Or, rather, our senses abuse us, and there is no rising, nor setting, nor zenith, nor east, nor west; but all is one fixed point, at which every species of light is beaming, at once, from the unalterable orb of day. 'On the world' is distributive, and should be distinctly separated from 'setting', next it, not only by pause, but by |