apt to think that a man must be great, that he must be famous, that he must be wealthy. That is all a mistake. It is not necessary to be rich, to be great, to be famous, to be powerful, in order to be happy. -INGERSOLL. V. A loose sentence is usually delivered with the Falling Inflection at intermediate pauses, except the clause preceding the last, when the Rising Inflection is used. The reason for this general rule is, that by using the rising inflection on next to the last clause, the effect is to connect all the preceding clauses with the very close. It is sometimes said that the falling inflection, used at the pauses in the following examples, is a partial fall only, as distinguished from the complete fall that denotes the conclusion of thought. That is, there are degrees of inflection that will represent the various degrees of relationship between ideas. It would be impossible, as well as undesirable, to give an exposition of these various degrees on the printed page. Here again the speaker's mind must be the guide. Examples: 1. To-day men point to Marengo in wonderment. They laud the power and foresight that so skilfully planned the battle, but they forget that Napoleon failed; they forget that he was defeated; they forget that a general only thirty years old made a victory of the great conqueror's defeat, and that a gamin of Paris put to shame the Child of Destiny.-ANONYMOUS. 2. Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight, Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right, And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that -LOWELL. light. 3. A little consideration of what takes place around us every day would show us that a higher law than that of our wills regulates events; that our painful labors are unnecessary and fruitless; that only in our simple, easy, spontaneous action are we strong, and by contenting ourselves with obedience we become divine.-EMERSON. VI. In a periodic sentence, the Rising Inflection should usually be given at the intermediate pauses. The construction of a periodic sentence is especially adapted to oratorical discourse, its leading idea, the climax, being reserved till the close. The thought is onlooking, and the rising inflection aids the thought-movement onward to the climax. Examples: 1. If men cared less for wealth and fame, To isolate their kindly feelings; The world would be the better for it. The World Would Be Better for It. M. N. COBB. 2. It was not his olive valleys and orchard groves that made the Greece of the Greek; it was not for his apple orchards or potato fields that the farmer of New England or New York marched to Bunker Hill, to Bennington, to Saratoga. A man's country is not a certain area of land, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle. Duty of Educated Men. CURTIS. VII. In alternative and antithetical expressions, the first part usually takes the Rising, the second part the Falling, Inflection. That is, contrasted ideas require contrasted inflections. Examples: 1. Shall we fight, or shall we fly? 2. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities' nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.-ROMANS viii, 38, 39. 3. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.-I CORINTHIANS XV, 42-44. 4. Contrast now the circumstances of your life and mine, Eschines, and then ask these people whose fortunes they would each of them prefer. You taught reading, I went to school; you performed initiations, I received them; you danced in the chorus, I furnished it; you were assembly clerk, I was speaker; you acted third parts, I heard you; you broke down, and I hissed'; you have worked as a statesman for the enemy, I for my country! On the Crown. DEMOSTHENES. The Circumflexes. The Circumflexes consist of a combination of the rising and falling inflections on a single syllable or word. We have the Falling Circumflex (^), where the rising inflection is followed by the falling. The Rising Circumflex (v), when the falling inflection is followed by the rising. The Double Rising Circumflex (~), when the falling circumflex is followed by the rising. The Double Falling Circumflex () is the union of two falling circumflexes. Usage. The rising circumflex may be used in expressing emphasis and to point the thought forward, as, "You say he is going?" This is equivalent to saying, "You say he is going, do you?" The falling circumflex may indicate delight and surprise, as, "Oh, how are you?" The circumflex is often used in irony, sarcasm, raillery, contempt, duplicity. Beware of one who habitually speaks with a zigzag inflection. His character is no straighter than his accent. Examples: 1. You think you are smart, don't you? 2. You will send your child, will you, into a room where the table is loaded with sweet wine' and fruit-some poisoned, some not?-you will say to him, "Choose freely, my little child! It is good for you to have freedom of choice; it forms your character -your individuality! If you take the wrong cup or the wrong berry, you will die before the day is over, but you will have acquired the dignity of a Free child."-RUSKIN. 3. Signior Antonio, many a time and oft In the Rialto you have rated me About my moneys and my usances: Still have I borne it with a patient shrug; ... What should I say to you? Should I not say, A cur can lend three thousand ducats? 'Or Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; -The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene III. 4. O Rome! Rome! thou hast been a tender nurse to me. Ay! thou hast given to that poor, gentle, timid shepherd-lad, who never knew a harsher tone than a flute-note, muscles of iron and a heart of flint; taught him to drive the sword through plaited mail and links of rugged brass, and warm it in the marrow of his foe:-to gaze into the glaring eye-balls of the fierce Numidian lion even as a boy upon a laughing girl! Sparticus to the Gladiators. KELLOGG. The Slides. The Slides are prolonged inflections. The voice is carried through a series of words, phrases, clauses, or sentences, usually from below the key to and above it, or vice versa. Examples: lesson? your study -Key to going you Are I am studying -Key my lesson. Usage. The principal uses of the slides are: I. A definite question takes the Rising Slide. A definite question is one that can be answered by yes or no. Examples: 1. 2. 3. Are you coming home? Is it that summer's forsaken our valleys, 4. Are we to go on cudgelling, and cudgelling, and cudgelling men's ears with coarse processes? Are we to consider it a special providence when any good comes from our preaching or our teaching? Are we never to study how skillfully to pick the lock of curiosity; to unfasten the door of fancy; to throw wide open the |