O breeze, that waftst me on my way!
Thou boast'st of what should be thy shame.
Life's fitful fever over, he rests well.

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?
From star to star the living lightnings flash.
And glittering crowns of prostrate seraphim.
That morning, thou that slumber'd'st not before.
Habitual evils change not on a sudden.
Thou waft'd'st the rickety skiffs over the cliffs.
Thou reef'd'st the haggled, shipwrecked sails.
The honest shepherd's catarrh.

The heiress in her dishabille is humorous.

The brave chevalier behaves like a conservative.
The luscious notion of champagne and precious sugar.

III. INFLECTIONS.

Inflections are slides of the voice upward or downward. Of these, there are two: the rising inflection and falling inflection.

The Rising Inflection is that in which the voice slides upward, and is marked thus ('); as,

The Falling Inflection is that in which the voice slides downward, and is marked thus (); as,

In the following examples, the first member has the rising and the second member the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.*

Is he sick', or is he well?
Did you say valor', or value`?
Did you say statute', or statue'?

Did he act properly', or improperly':

In the following examples, the inflections are used in a contrary order, the first member terminating with the falling and the second with the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

He is well, not sick'.

I said value', not valor.

I said statue', not statute'.

He acted properly', not improperly'

FALLING INFLECTIONS.

RULE VI.-The falling inflection is generally proper wherever the sense is complete.

EXAMPLES.

Truth is more wonderful than fiction'.
Men generally die as they live'.

By industry we obtain wealth'.

REMARK.-Parts of a sentence often make complete sense in themselves, and in this case, unless qualified or restrained by the succeeding clause, or unless the contrary is indicated by some other principle, the falling inflection takes place according to the rule.

*These questions and similar ones, with their answers, should be repeatedly pronounced with their proper inflections, until the distinction between the rising and falling inflection is well understood and easily made by the learner. He will be assisted in this by emphasizing strongly the word which receives the inflection; thus, Did you RIDE' or did you WALK'?

EXAMPLES.

Truth is wonderful', even more so than fiction'.

Men generally die as they live`, and by, their actions we must judge of their character'.

Exception.-When a sentence concludes with a negative clause, or with a contrast or comparison (called also antithesis), the first member of which requires the falling inflection, it must close with the rising inflection. (See Rule XI, and 22, Note.)

EXAMPLES.

No one desires to be thought a fool'.

I come to bury' Cæsar, not to praise him.

He lives in England', not in France'.

REMARK.-In bearing testimony to the general character of a man we say,

He is too honorable to be guilty of a vile act.

But if he is accused of some act of baseness, a contrast is at once instituted between his character and the specified act, and we change the inflections, and say,

He is too honorable to be guilty of such an act.

A man may say, in general terms,

I am too busy' for projects'.

But if he is urged to embark in some particular enterprise, he will change the inflections, and say,

I am too busy for projects'.

In such cases, as the falling inflection is required in the former part by the principle of contrast and emphasis (as will hereafter be more fully explained), the sentence necessarily closes with the rising inflection. Sometimes, also, emphasis alone seems to require the rising inflection on the concluding word. See exception to Rule VII.

(5.-2.)

STRONG EMPHASIS.

RULE VII.-Language which demands strong emphasis generally requires the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

§1. Command or urgent entreaty; as,

Begone',

Run' to your houses, fall upon your knees,
Pray to the Gods to intermit the plagues.

O, save me, Hubert', save me! My eyes are out
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men.

§2. Exclamation, especially when indicating strong emotion; as,

O, ye Gods! ye Gods! must I endure all this?

Hark! Hark! the horrid sound
Hath raised up his head.

For interrogatory exclamation, see Rule X, Remark.

SERIES OF WORDS OR MEMBERS.

§3. A series of words or members, whether in the beginning or middle of a sentence, if it does not conclude the sentence is called a commencing series, and usually requires the rising inflection when not emphatic.

EXAMPLES OF COMMENCING SERIES.

Wine', beauty', music', pomp', are poor expedients to heave off the load of an hour from the heir of eternity'.

I conjure you by that which you profess,
(Howe'er you came to know it,) answer me;

Though you untie the winds and let them fight
Against the churches'; though the yeasty waves
Confound and swallow navigation' up;

Though bladed corn be lodged, and trees blown down';
Though castles topple on their warders' heads';

Though palaces and pyramids do slope

Their heads to their foundations'; though the treasures
Of nature's germens tumble altogether',

Even till destruction sicken'; answer me

To what I ask you.

§4. A series of words or members which concludes a sentence is called a concluding series, and each member usually has the falling inflection.

EXAMPLE OF CONCLUDING SERIES.

They, through faith, subdued kingdoms', wrought righteousness', obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions', quenched the violence of fire', escaped the edge of the sword', out of weakness were made strong', waxed valiant in fight', turned to flight the armies of the aliens'.

REMARK.-When the emphasis on these words or members is not marked, they take the rising inflection, according to Rule IX.

EXAMPLES.

They are the offspring of restlessness', vanity', and idleness'. Love', hope', and joy' took possession of his breast.

§5. When words, which naturally take the rising inflection, become emphatic by repetition or any other cause, they often take the falling inflection.