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Hope, open thou his ear to hear.

Guide thine eye to look on high.

Teach thine heart, the holy art of humbly hearing truth.

Let the following short sentences be pronounced clearly and distinctly, with a full stop, and an interval of perfect silence between them:

A woody country.
A gloomy forest.
An aged oak.
A nodding beech.
A shady grove.
A ragged rock.
A high mountain.
A rapid river.

A winding stream.
A crystal lake.

A fertile vale.

A charming prospect.

God made all things.

A thatched cottage.
A little town.
A country church.
A ruined abbey.
A stately tower.
An old castle.
A rural seat.
A splendid paláce.
A royal park.
A flowery lawn.
A large orchard.
A fine garden.

He is the source of all felicity.

He provides for every creature.

The least insect is an object of his care.
He is present in every region of nature.
He sees all our actions.

He knows our private thoughts.
The heavens proclaim his glory.
His dominions are unbounded.
He governs innumerable worlds.
He encircles the universe.
The earth is a planet.

The earth turns round its axis.
The sun is in the centre.

The sun is the source of light.
The planets are other worlds.
The fixed stars are other suns.
Space has no limits.

The creation is a scene of wonders.

The bee collects honey from the flowers.

The silkworm spins a thread from her bowels.

The spider weaves a curious web.

The ant lays up stores for winter.

The mole makes her apartments under ground.
The rabbit forms her grotto in the hill,

Let the student exercise his voice upon the following short sentences, which are selected for the purpose of giving facility and precision of articulation in some of the most difficult combinations :

This act, more than all other acts, of the legislature, laid the are at the very root of the evil.

It is false to say he had no faults.

The magistrates ought to prove the charge.
The magistrates sought to disprove the charge.
Back! to thy punishment, false fugitive!

The hosts still stand in strangest plight.
That last still night.

That lasts till night.

He was most formidable and unmanageable.
His works demonstrate his existence.
Ón either side an ocean exists.

On neither side a notion exists.

Around the rugged rocks the restless rangers ran.

I said pop-u-lar, not pop❜lar.

I said omnip-o-tence, not omnipertunce.

I said pre-vail, not pr❜vail.

I said be-hold, not b’hold.

He péremptorily refused to enter the réceptacle of the dead.

He acts from disinterested motives.

Think'st thou so meanly of my Phocion?

O'erwhelmed with whirlwinds and tempestuous fire.

Henceforth look to your hearths.

Canst thou minister to a mind diseased?

My lords, this is a tre-men-dous and awful crisis!
A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call.

B

ACCENT.

Rule 5.-Pronounce every word, consisting of more syllables than one, with its proper accent.

Accent means a peculiar manner of distinguishing one syllable from the rest. This distinction is made in two ways: either by dwelling longer on one syllable than on the rest; or by giving a smarter percussion of the voice in utterance. Of the former, we have instances in the words glory, father, hōly; of the latter, in batt'le, hab'it, bor'row. It may therefore be observed, that the essence of a syllable consists in articulation; the essence of a word consists in accent as well as articulation.

In accenting words, care should be taken to avoid all affected deviations from common usage. Let the accent therefore be always placed on the same syllable, and on the same letter of the syllable, that are usual in common discourse.

Accent seems to be regulated in a great measure by etymology. In words from the Saxon, the accent is generally on the root; in words from the learned languages, it is generally on the termination: and if to these we add the different accent we lay on some words, to distinguish them from others, we seem to have the three great principles of accentuation; namely, the radical, the terminational, and the distinctive. The radical; as, "Love, lovely, loveliness:" the terminational; as, "Harmony, harmonious:" the distinctive; as, "Cónvert, to convért."

ACCENT ON DISSYLLABLES.

Words of two syllables have necessarily one of them accented, and but one. It is true, for the sake of emphasis, we sometimes lay an equal stress upon two successive syllables; as, "Dí-réct, sóme-tímes:" but when these words are pronounced alone, they have never more than one accent. The word "á-mén," is the only word which is pronounced with two accents when alone.

Of dissyllables, formed by fixing a termination, the former syllable is commonly accented: as, "Childish, kíngdom, áctest, ácted, tóilsome, lóver, scóffer, fairer, foremost, zealous, fulness, meekly, artist."

Dissyllables formed by prefixing a syllable to the radical word, have commonly the accent on the latter as, "To beseém, to bestów, to return.

Of dissyllables, which are at once nouns and verbs, the verb has commonly the accent on the latter, and the noun on the former syllable: as "To cemént, a cément; to contráct, a cóntract, to presage, a présage.'

This rule has many exceptions. Though verbs seldom have their accent on the former, yet nouns often have it on the latter syllable: as, "Delight, perfume." Those nouns which, in the common order of language, must have preceded the verbs, often transmit their accent to the verbs they form, and inversely. Thus, the noun "water" must have preceded the verb "to water," as the verb " to correspónd," must have preceded the noun" correspóndent:" and "to pursue" claims priority to "pursuit." So

that we may conclude, wherever verbs deviate from the rule, it is seldom by chance, and generally in those words only where a superior law of accent takes place.

All dissyllables ending in y, our, ow, le, ish, c, ter, age, en, et: as, "6 Cránny, lábour, willow, wallow," (except "allów, avów, endów, belów, bestów) battle, bánish, cámbric, batter, coúrage, fasten, quíet;" accent the former syllable. Dissyllable nouns in er, as, " Cánker, bútter," have the accent on the former syllable.

Dissyllable verbs, terminating in a consonant and e final, as, " Compríse, escape;" or having a diphthong in the last syllable, as "Appéase, revéal;" or ending in two consonants; as," Atténd;" have the accent on the latter syllable.

Dissyllable nouns, having a diphthong in the latter syllable, have commonly their accent on the latter syllable; as, "Applause ;" except some words in ain: as, "Villain, cúrtain, mountain."

Dissyllables that have two vowels, which are separated in the pronunciation, have always the accent on the first syllable: as, "Líon, ríot, quíet, líar, rúin ;" except "creáte."

ACCENT ON TRISYLLABLES.

Trisyllables formed by adding a termination, or prefixing a syllable, retain the accent of the radical word: as, "Loveliness, ténderness, contémner, wagoner, bespátter, cómmenting, comménding, assurance."

Trisyllables ending in ous, al, ion: as, "A'rduous, cápital, méntion," accent the first.

Trisyllables ending in ce, ent, and ate, accent the first syllable: as, "Countenance, cóntinence, ármament, ímminent, élegant, própagate;" un

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