from none but you.

This is the commodity of price,

of which you have the monopoly.

This is the true act of navigation,

that gives all their life and efficacy to them.

It is the spirit of the English constitution,

Before dismissing the subject of inflexions, it is important to furnish some further illustration of the modes in which almost every example that can be produced, for illustrating the propriety of a rising or a falling inflexion on any one word, may be read in an opposite manner-the contrary inflexion being substituted for that directed.

Every such change, however, of one inflexion for its opposite, is but an apparent, and not a real exception. By such changes, the idea is presented in a different light, or, to speak more precisely, with a different relation to other ideas.

It readily follows, then, that rules and directions for invariably appropriating one class of inflexions to any particular combination of words, must be erroneous. This having been done in so many of the books on elocution, the error has undoubtedly contributed to the general neglect of such books by accurate scholars, on the one hand, and by those who have a natural turn for delivery, on the other.

It will be well to take some of the examples which we have already used, and explain the circumstances of connexion with other ideas which may require inflexions contrary to those which we have already given them.

Take even such strong cases as those of the emphatic falling inflexion, by which we express positiveness, strong affirmation, or earnest and pointed designation of such ideas as we wish to receive particular attention; even in these, if we employ a different style of expression, or have a different object in view, the downward slide is changed into a rising one. E. g.

"I make the assertion deliberately."

As much as to say-I appeal to you, and ask you if I am not perfectly cool and collected, in making the assertion.

"They tell us, Sir, that we are weak,

unable to cope

with so formidable an enemy."

That is, I concede-I allow-that the opposers of war measures, consider us weak, &c.

Concession, or appeal, or a fair and candid submitting of an opinion or assertion, to the consideration and possible objections of others, will change affirmative falling inflexions to rising slides.

So too, any rising slide may have a downward one substituted for it, whenever we choose to interrupt the grammatical or logical continuity of languge or thought, for the sake of stopping and pointing out a particular idea, as we pass along.

In most cases however, if this be done, the upward skip with which the falling inflexion commences, will be high and striking. The upward skip will indeed serve to a considerable extent, the office of an upward slide.

Let us take for an example of this, the first conditional clause of the extract from Burke; its inflexions may even be as follows, provided we state the condition in the utmost extreme of pointedly and even dogmatically inculcating a doctrine.

Some notice ought also to be taken of the change which often takes place at the close of a series of several falling inflexions. At the close of our extract from Burke, we have the following series of emphatic particulars:

"which pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies, every part of the empire."

Here it will be observed, that on the last member but one of the series, the inflexion is changed. The object of doing this, is simply to show that we are within one particular of the end of the enumeration. If the conjunction and intervened between the two last members of the series, the change to the rising inflexion would be on the last particular, instead of on the last but one.

There are several ways of varying the inflexions, for the purpose of showing that we are near the end of the series. The last may be varied, or the last but one; or the two or three last. No more precise rule is necessary, than the following:

At or near the end of a series of particulars, we should generally vary the inflexion, to show that the series is nearly or quite ended.

The gestures that naturally accompany inflexions, curiously correspond with them in regard to upward or downward direction. We have before mentioned, that emphatic falling inflexions are accompanied with the downward stroke of gesture. Rising inflexions, if of moderate extent, are accompanied, simply with a suspension of the hand in the air. The arm does not naturally incline to descend or fall, until the sense is completed, and the voice employs an emphatic downward slide, or a cadence. Emphatic rising inflexions, incline to carry the hand in an oblique direction, upwards and outwards. But in the most flexible, graceful and significant styles of natural gesture, the motions made more or less in an upward dirction, are executed rather at the wrist than from the shoulder. Circumflexes especially, tend to make the gesticulations of the hand and forefinger extremely significant. A waving course through the air is made by the hand, similar to the downward and upward progress of the voice,