matical principles on which they are collocated, furnish a series of exercises of the very highest utility, as affording means of careful application of all the orthoepic and inflective principles. Let each of the following STAGES of GROUPING be separately practised, by reading some passages in varied styles of composition, according to each mode, until facility of spontaneous grouping is attained. The exercise is, besides, valuable as a grammatical one. 32. 1st STAGE. Pronounce every word with separate accentuation and inflexion, except the ARTICLES a, an, and the. WAR. - H. More. O,- war! the proof- and - scourge - of- man's - fall'n - state! Of-all-thy - glories?- for- the vanquish'd, - chains! 33. 2d STAGE. Unite PREPOSITIONS (as well as articles) in one accentual group with the words to which they refer. Include in this stage the sign of the infinitive mood (to) and also prepositions used adverbially as accented additions to verbs; as "to put up," "to go by," &c. TRUE GREATNESS. - a A contemplation - of God's - works, - - a voluntary - act - of justice - to our-own- detriment, - a generous - concern - for the good - of mankind. - tears shed - in silence - for the misery-of others, private - desire - of resentment - broken - and - subdued, - an unfeigned-exercise - of humility, - or - any - other - virtue, - are - such - actions - as - denominate - men - great - and - reputable. 34. 3d STAGE. Connect personal or relative PRONOUNS With VERBS whether in the nominative or objective case; as the person who did it - told me - the fact." Include also,—as impersonal pronouns, 66 the words there and so, when used as in the sentences, "there maythere is—there will do so-I say so;" When a pronoun is the "antecedent" to a relative, it will be accented (but not necessarily emphatic,) as in the sentence, "His first field against the infidels proved fatal to him who in the English war, had seen seventy battles." Otherwise the pronoun is always unaccented, except in case of antithesis, when the pronoun becomes emphatic. THE SECRET OF CONTENT. In whatever-state - I am, - I - first - of all - look up to heaven, - and - remember - that - the principal - business - here - is, - howto get there. I then - look down - upon the earth, - and -call-to mind - how - small - a portion - I shall occupy - in it when - I come to be - interred; -I- then - look abroad-into the world, and observe the multitudes - who, in many respects, more unhappy-than- myself. Thus - I learn - where - true - happiness-resides, - where-every-care - must - end; - and -I- then-seehow - very little - reason - I have to complain. - are 35. 4th STAGE. Join adjective and relative PRONOUNS to their NOUNS; as "that man, which man," &c. Include also the NUMERALS one, two, three, &c., first, second, third, &c., and such words as such, none, all, both, some, &c. The compound pronominal adjectives, my own, his own, &c. may be considered as one word. Do not group words of this class with verbs; for the noun must always be understood between the pronominal word, or numeral, and the verb. The pronoun is unaccented, except in case of antithesis, or when it is "antecedent" to a relative, as in the sentence :— "I clip high climbing thoughts, The wings of swelling pride; Their fall is worst that from the height EVENTFUL EPOCHS. Emerson. Real-action - is - in silent- moments. - The epochs of our life are - not in the visible - facts - of our choice of a calling, - our marriage, - our acquisition - of an office, - and - the like; but in a silent-thought- by the wayside - as - we walk; in a thought - which revises - our entire - manner - of life, - and - says, "Thus - hast thou - done, - but it were-better- thus." And-all - our after-years, like menials, - do- serve - and - wait - on this, - and, - according to their ability, - do- execute - its will. 36. 5th STAGE. Accentuate into one group AUXILIARY with PRINCIPAL VERBS when no adverbial word or phrase intervenes. THE FINE ARTS.-. - Emerson. Because the soul is progressive, -it- never - quite - repeats itself, but-in every act-attempts - the production-of a new-and - fairer - whole. Thus - in our Fine Arts - not - imitation, - but creation is - the aim. In landscape, - the painter - should givethe suggestion - of a fairer - creation - than we know. The de tails, - the prose - of Nature. - he should omit, - and - give us - only - the spirit-and-splendour. Valuing - more - the expression - of Nature than Nature - herself. - he will exalt in his copy - the features that please him. He will give - the gloom-of gloom. and the sunshine - of sunshine. 37. 6th STAGE. Unite ADVERBS with the ADJECTIVES or ADVERBS which they qualify, (not adverbs with verbs;) and the negatives no and not, with whatever they refer to. THE FIRMAMENT. Young. One sun - by day, - by night - ten thousand - shine; How boundless - in magnificence - and - might! Oh, what a confluence of ethereal - fire, From urns - unnumber'd - down the steep - of heaven. Streams - to a point, - and - centres - in my sight! Nor- tarries - there;- I feel it - at my heart! 66 or 38. 7th STAGE. Unite next in the same group or atorical word," ADJECTIVES and the NOUNS they qualify. Two adjectives cannot be connected, as there is between them a necessary ellipsis of the noun. In this and the following stages, be especially careful to accentuate the groups according to the relative value of the words. Sometimes the adjective will take the primary accent, and sometimes, but more generally,* the noun; and, often. both will require an equal accentuation,-emphatic or unemphatic. REMEMBRANCE.- W. E. Aytoun. I, - who was - fancy's lord, - am - fancy's slave. Retains, within its mystic urn, - the hum Heard in the sea-grots, where the Nereids - dwell- Those aged visitors - of sorrow - dumb. 39. 8th STAGE. COPULATIVE particles may next be united with the connected word that follows them; but if they are not immediately followed by the word or words which they unite in sense, they must stand apart. and be separately accented and inflected, as in the following sentence : * See this tested in the author's New Elucidation of the Principles of Speech." (1849.) “I shall call,-and-if possible, - ascertain - the fact." Disjunctives, such as but, nor, &c., frequently require separate pronunciation. STABILITY OF NATURE.---. Who - first-beholds - those everlasting clouds, Seed time and harvest. - morning, - noon, - and night, As to belong - rather - to heaven - than earth,- A sense, a feeling - that he loses not; A something - that informs him - 'tis - a moment - 40. 9th STAGE. The PREDICATE that follows the VERB to BE, whether it consist of a single word or of a clause, may be united with the verb in one accentual group: as, "To be thus—is nothing—but to be safely thus!" HUMAN PROGRESS.- Christian Philosophy. Man. - even - in his inglorious - and fallen state, -is eminently fitted for progression - in knowledge. There is the eye-to perceive, the soul to understand, the ear-to attend, - and the judgement - to ponder; - there are the senses to supply - material, - and the memory - to store up - the treasures. By deep causation man - reasons - on first principles - and chief laws, - and - by analogy-compares and contrasts. From the lower steps of the intellectual ladder, - he - gradually - ascends - to the highest regions - of abstract thought - and reflection. The alphabet - may be the child's first study, - the heaven - of heavens - the theme - of his manly contemplations. - As a child. - he may whip- his top - in the street, or roll - his hoop - on the path; - as a man, - he measureth- the heavens, - and reckoneth - with mathematical precision - the revolutions - of the planetary worlds. From the hyssop - he goeth on to the cedar, from the wonders of nature - to those of providence,- and - from both, - by a spiritual flight,- to the higher regions of grace. With elasticity - of mind, - in connexion - with physical vigour, - and the cultivation - of the moral sense, - none but God - can tell - where- man's soarings - will end, - - or his dis coveries - terminate. 41. 10th STAGE. ADVERBS and adverbial PHRASES may next be united with the VERBS they qualify; also interrogative and conditional particles, such as when, why, if, &c. as in the sentences, "When I first came here, 66 it was far otherwise-than it is now;" If it why, then there is no remedy." must be done SUNSET. - Alex. Bethune. The sun - hath almost reach'd - his journey's close; Pure as the pensive light - from woman's eyes - In that rich radiance, - and - a passing thought- In beams of light, - and curtain'd round about - That with the ancient Persian, - one - might deem 42. 11th STAGE. The word, or clause forming the OBJECT of a transitive verb, or the COMPLEMENTAL EXPRESSION of a verb, may next be added to the verb in the same oratorical group: as "to love virtue;" "to become near-sighted" "learn- to do good" "my own tears- have made me blind," &c. When the "object" is the grammatical antecedent to a relative clause, or when it stands in the relation of principal to any dependent sentence immediately following, it should not be grouped with the verb, but with the relative or subordinate to which it stands in closer relationship. When there are two or more "objects" to one verb, the latter should be pronounced by itself, that the equal relation of all the objects to the verb may be manifested. In such cases, the objects will generally take the collective form of a SERIES. REVELATION. Should these credulous infidels, - after all, - be in the right, and - this pretended revelation - be all a fable, - from believing itwhat harm - could ensue? Would it render princes more tyrannical, - or subjects more ungovernable? the rich more insolent.-or |