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lables, which are comparatively slurred over, are said to be unaccented. It should be particularly remembered that a monosyllable may really receive accent, just as well as any one of the syllables in a long word.

'He' had a fe ́ver when' he was in Spain'.'

In grammars and spelling-books the accent is only marked in words of two or more syllables: Fe'ver,' Almight'y,' 'Ir'ritable.'

A glance at the five examples already given will suffice to demonstrate an important point in reference to accent. No syllable can have emphasis of any kind given it, without becoming accented. Let the pupil try to repeat either of the two last examples, on the former page, giving to the accented syllables in any of the emphatic words, the low sound of unaccented syllables, and he will directly find that the words are made unemphatic. It has been already more than once observed that accented syllables are not all emphatic. The two examples first given do not require any emphasis. They must, however, receive accent.

It remains only to inquire how the accented and unaccented syllables are to follow one another in speech. Two very simple rules will explain the whole system.

I. An unaccented syllable may follow an accented one, without any pause or break between them; an accented one cannot.

Let the word there'fore' be taken as an example. The first syllable in it is always accented, the second,

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never. In repeating the word, we see that the unaccented syllable can be uttered easily, without any pause between it and the accented one before it. But now, repeat the first syllable twice, there'there',' taking care to make it accented both times. There will be a very perceptible break between them, a break long enough for us to have got in, if we had tried, an unaccented syllable, in the time it took up. We might say, 'there' and there',' in as little time as we can'there'-there'.' So much for the first rule.

II. The second principle is, that two, or even more, unaccented syllables may follow one another without requiring any pause between them.

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Take, for instance, the following sentences:There'fore there went'.' 'There'fore there went out'.' History of the king'.' The above examples show us two, three, and even four unaccented syllables in this close union. More than four, we shall find too many. We shall be obliged to pause between them, in order to take breath.

In each of these examples we find that the accented syllable, and the unaccented sound or sounds which follow it, are uttered by one effort of the voice. As soon as we come to another accented syllable, we must make another effort. 'There'fore there went' out'-.' We give the name of a measure to the syllables which are thus sounded by one impulse. In order to make out the measure, for reading, we, divide them from each other by bars, (thus, ||).

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There'fore there | went to him | all' Jer | u'salem
And they shall | burn' to | geth'er.

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If these sentences be read with their accents, as they are here marked out, they will have no pause whatever of the voice, from the beginning to the end. It is not possible, however, to read long sentences, without making pauses in them. Four or five measures are the most that can be sounded together, without stopping. If we try to utter more, we shall lose our breath. The following sentence will serve as an example.

'I can'not my | Lords' I will not | join' in congratulation | on' mis fortune and dis

grace'.'

Hardly any one will be able to read this sentence, as it is here marked out, without stops of any kind. They will be obliged to pause for breath before they reach the end. Yet the accented syllables are all marked rightly. Let us see whether there is not some means by which we can mark out the places where, and the length of time for which, we may, without violating the sense, be allowed to pause for breath.

Pauses in speech are of various lengths, some taking up a whole measure, or even more; others only taking half a measure. The following are examples of those which are most commonly used.

1. Where two accented syllables come together, the voice is commonly compelled to pause between then, through the unaccented portion of the first measure. This pause was exhibited in the repetition

of the accented syllable there'-there'.' It may be thus marked, there' 7 | there'.'

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| No'ah | went 1 | in'.'

'Then' they went' 7 | in' unto No‍ah. | '
'Then' the Lord' 7 | shut him | in'.'
'And' in the six' 7 | hun'dredth | year'.'

If, however, the first accented syllable be indefinite in its quantity, we may make it so long in its sound, as to run it through the time of the whole measure, and so not leave any pause between it and the next. This would be very often done in solemn

reading.

Yet' 10 Lord' | God' 7 | mosť 7 | holy |
O Lord' most' 7 | mighty. |

In the self' 7 | same' | day' | en'tered | No'ah.

This pause through the unaccented portion of a measure is so short and unimportant, that it is not commonly worth while to mark it. It has only to be remembered that where two accented syllables come together, a pause of half a measure may be made between them; but that if the former be indefinite, it need not be made. In the scored exercises for reading given in this work, the rest (7) is not printed, unless where the sense may happen to require a pause: e. g.

In the self' same' | day' | en'tered | No'ah. |
Sir' 7' in the most ex | press' | terms' |—

2. A pause may be made, if the sense requires it,

through the unaccented portion of the measure. Thus:

When he had end'ed | 7 he turned to the | south' | side' of the | scaffold | 7 and | said'. | '

Hav'ing ut'tered a short' | prayer' | 7 he gave' the signal to the | ex'e | cu'tioner. |

The same rest is usually inserted in the scored exercises, wherever a sentence begins on an unaccented syllable, in order to show to the reader, that it does not come at the beginning of the measure. Thus:

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7 'And the wa'ters prevailed' upon the earth'.' 7' To | satisfy him | 7 the door' of the | bedchamber | 7 was | half' | o'pened. |

7' I know' | that' my Re | deem'er | liv'eth. | '

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3. Pauses may take up the whole time of a meas

ure.

Thus:

I am amazed' | 71 | yes' my | Lords' 7 | I' am amazed' at his | Gra'ce's | speech'. '

One' dead' u'niform si'lence | 71 | reigned' over the whole' | re'gion. |

'When' a | man' hath | once' | for'feited | 7 the | rep'u | ta'tion | 7 of his in | tegʻrity | 7 7 | noth ́ing will then serve' his | turn' | 7 7 | neith ́er | truth' | nor' | falsehood. | '

In the scored exercises, the rests (77) are omitted in the notation used to express this pause. Thus:

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