6. Make proper stops and pauses, according as the points direct; as the comma, semicolon, colon, and period; by which the hearers will better understand all that you read, and you will have time to take breath to continue in reading.

But be sure to make no stops where the sense admits of none; and take care to avoid that faulty custom of reading all the short little words quick, and the solid and longer words of a sentence very slow for such a reader, by the jerks and starts of his voice, destroys the sense, and suffers no hearer to understand it.

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7. As the accent, or stress of the voice, must be placed on the proper syllable in pronouncing each word, so a proper accent must be given to such words in a sentence, whereby the force and meaning of that sentence may best appear. This is called the emphasis.

The notes of interrogation, admiration, &c. are often useful to direct where the emphasis must be placed; which shall be farther explained in the next chapter.

8. Consider what the subject is which you read, and let your voice humour the sense a little.

Where the subject is merely historical, as a news-paper or a story, or any relation of what was done, there you should not vary the accents very much, nor affect so strong and passionate a pronunciation, as you ought to do where the subject is affecting or persuasive; as in an oration, an exhortation, or the more practical parts of a sermon.

Where the sense is grave and solemn, especially if it be in the way of instruction, or explaining any point of difficulty, let your voice be more slow, and pronounce every word very distinctly; but where the subject is some familiar, easy, and pleasant matter, let your pronunciation be a little more speedy: But still remember, that to read too fast, is a greater fault, at all times, than to read too slow, supposing that the accents and emphasis be well observed.

9. Attend with diligence when you hear persons who read well: observe the manner how they pronounce; take notice where they give a different turn to their voice; mark in what sort of sentences, and in what parts of any sentence, they alter the sound; and then endeavour to imitate them. Thus you will learn a graceful cadence of voice in reading; as you may learn the change of the notes in singing, by rote as well as by rule and by the ear, attending to the teacher, together with the eye fixed upon the book of tunes.

10. Let those who desire to read gracefully, practise it often in the presence of such as have an harmonious ear, and understand good reading; and let them be willing and desirous to be corrected.

Let the master once or twice a week appoint his best scho

lars to read some oration, some affectionate sermon, some poctry, some news-paper, some familiar dialogues, to shew them how to pronounce different sorts of writing, by correcting their mistakes.

Though I would advise young persons to read aloud even sometimes in private, in order to obtain a graceful pronunciation; yet I would not have them trust only to their private read→ ing, for this purpose, lest they fall into some foolish and selfpleasing tones, of which their own ears are not sufficient judges, and thereby settle themselves in an ill habit, which they may carry with them even to old age, and beyond all possibility of cure.

CHAP XV. Of the Emphasis, or Accent which belongs to some special Word or Words in a Sentence.

IT has been said already, that as that force of the voice which is placed on the proper syllable in each word, is called the accent: so that stress or force of sound that is laid on a particular word in a sentence, is called the emphasis.

The word on which the stress is laid, is called the emphatical word, because it gives force, and spirit, or beauty, to the whole sentence; as in Nehem. vi. 11. Should such a man as I flee? The little word I is the most emphatical, and requires

the accent.

To place an emphasis upon any word, is only to pronounce. that word with a peculiar strength of voice above the rest. But if the word be of two syllables, then the accented syllable of the emphatical word must be pronounced stronger than otherwise it would be, and not any new or different accent placed upon that' word. As in this question, Did you travel to London, or to York, last week? The first syllable in London, and the word York, must both be pronounced with a strong sound, because the emphasis lies on those two words.

And upon this consideration it is, that we use the words accent or emphasis indifferently, to signify the stress that must be laid on any word in a sentence, because both are usually placed on the same syllable.

Yet if it happen that there be a plain opposition between two words in a sentence, whereof ene differs from the other but in part, as righteous and unrighteous; form and reform, or conform; proper and improper; just and unjust; then the accent is often removed from its common place, and fixed on that first syllable in which those words differ; as, If I would form my manners well, I must not conform to the world, but rather refórm it. The just must die as well as the unjust. Whereas if these words unjust or conform stood by themselves in a sentence,

without such an opposition, the accent would lie on the last syllable; as, I would never conform to their unjust practices.

As there may be two accents upon one word, so there may' be two or three emphasis in one sentence; as, James is neither a fool, nor a wit, a blockhead, nor a poet. Now in this sentence, fool, wit, blockhead, poet, are all emphatical words.

The great and general rule to find out which is the empha-, tical word in a sentence, is this; Consider what is the chief design of the speaker or writer; and that word which shows the chief design of the sentence, is the emphatical word for it is for the sake of that word, or words, the whole sentence seems to be made.

There might be some particular rules given to find the emphatical word, such as these:

1st. When a question is asked, the emphasis often lies on the questioning word, such as, who, what, when, whither; as Who is there? What is the matter? Whither did you go? But 'tis not always so; as, Who was the strongest, or the wisest man? In which sentence, wisest and strongest are the emphatical words.

2dly. When two words are set in opposition one to the ether, and one of them is pronounced with an emphasis, then the other should have an emphasis also; as, If they run, we will run, for our feet are as good as theirs. In this sentence they and we, ours and theirs, are the emphatical words.

In reading a discourse which we know not before, sometimes we happen to place the emphasis very improperly; then we must read the sentence over again, in order to pronounce it with a proper sound: But when a person speaks his own mind, or reads a discourse which he is acquainted with, he scarce ever gives the emphasis to the wrong word.

To make it appear of how great importance it is to place the emphasis aright, let us consider, that the very sense and meaning of a sentence is oftentimes very different, according as the accent or emphasis is laid upon different words; and the particular design of the speaker is distinguished hereby, as in this short question, May a man walk in at the door now? If the emphasis be laid upon the word man, the proper negative answer to it is, No, but a boy may. If the emphasis be laid upon the word walk, the answer is, No, but he may creep in. If the emphasis be put on the word door, the answer will be, No, but he may at the great gate. And if the emphasis be placed on the word now, the negative answer is plainly this, No, but he might yesterday. And let us but consider how impertinent either of these answers will be, if the enquirer did not lay the emphasis on the proper word, that should give the true meaning of his question.

Take the utmost care therefore, in reading, to distinguish the

emphatical word; for the beauty and propriety of reading depends much upon it; and that every reader may fully understand me, I would lay down these four particular rules concerning the emphasis.

1st. Carefully avoid uniformity of voice, or reading without any emphasis at all; like a mere ignorant boy, who knows not what he reads, expressing every word with the same tone, and laying a peculiar force of sound no where for such an one pronounces the most pathetic oration, as though he were conning over a mere catalogue of single words.

2dly. Do not multiply the accents, nor change the tone of your voice so often as to imitate singing or chanting; for this is another extreme, and as faulty as the former. The reader should not make new emphasis beyond the design of the writer: and therefore,

3dly. Take heed of laying a stress or accent on words where there ought to be none. Some persons have got a very unhappy custom of placing a strong sound on words, not so much according to their sense, as according to the length of the sentence, and the capacity of their breath to hold out in pronouncing it: therefore you shall find them strengthen their tone perhaps at the end of every line, or comma; and others shall do it perhaps only at a colon, or period. Now, tho' towards the end of the sentence the voice should usually suffer an agreeable turn, yet not always grow louder; for the emphatical word may stand per- haps in the middle of the sentence, where there is no stop at all. But this leads me to the fourth rule.

4thly. Have a care of omitting the accent, or emphasis, where it ought to be placed; for this will make the sentence lose all its force, and oftentimes conceal the meaning of it from the hearer.

Perhaps I have been too tedious here; but if these rules are not observed in reading, the speech of the finest orator, with all the noblest ornaments of eloquence, will become flat, and dull, and feeble, and have no power to charm or persuade.

CHAP. XVI.-Observations concerning the Letters in printed Books, and in Writing.

1. THE twenty four letters are called the alphabet, because alpha, beta, are the names of the two first Greek letters A and B. Note, that the great letters are called capitals, and the others small.

2. The round, full, and upright print, is called the Roman, as Father. The long, narrow and leaning letters, are called Italic, or Italian, as Father. The old black letter is called the -English, as father.

3. In most books both the Roman and Italian are used, but in the old English letter few things are printed now-a-days, besides acts of parliament, proclamations, &c.

4. Books that are printed in the Roman letter, allow such parts as these to be printed in the Italic, namely,

(1.) The preface, and sometimes the index, or table of the matters contained in the book.-(2.) The titles or arguments of the several chapters, sections, or pages.-(3.) Examples to any rules that are laid down.-(4.) Words of any foreign language that are cited or mentioned.-(5.) Such sentences as are cited from other authors, or the speeches or sayings of any person.(6.) Those words that have the chief place or force in a sentence, and are most significant and remarkable; where the emphasis is placed.-(7.) Where any word or words are made the very matter of the discourse, or are explained, those words are printed often in the Italic; or else the explication of them is so; as, the name of cannon is given to a great-gun.

Note, That if a book, or chapter, or preface, &c. be printed in the Italic letter, then all these things before-mentioned are printed in the Roman.

Note also, That most of those things which ought to be put in a different letter in print, ought to have a stroke drawn under them in writing, or be written in a different hand, or, at least, they should be included in crotchets for distinction sake.

CHAP. XVII-Of Great Letters.

THE last observation concerning letters, is this, That capital, or great letters, are never used among the small, in the middle or end of words, but only at the beginning of a word; and that in the cases following.

1. At the beginning of any writing, book, chapter, paragraph, &c.

2. After a period, or any full stop, when a new sentence begins.

3. At the beginning of every line in poetry, and every verse in the bible.

4. At the beginning of proper names of all sorts, whether of persons, as Thomas; places, as London; ships, as The Hopewell; titles and distinctions of men and women, as King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Lady, Esquire, Gentleman, Sir, Madam.

5. All the names of God must begin with a great letter, as God, Lord, the Eternal, the Almighty; and also the Son of God, the holy Spirit.

6. A citation of any author, or saying of any person, which is quoted in his own words, begins with a capital; as, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God..

7. Where whole words or sentences are written in capitals, something is expressed extraordinary remarkable; as, I AM