Correct taste, assisted by a refined ear, is the only guide in such cases for the pronunciation of the final consonant. For instance, il part à sept heures, il sort à tout moment, must, for euphony's sake, be pronounced as if they were written, il par__à sept_ heures, il sor à tou_moment. A different pronunciation would make people smile.

Final syllables ending in n are always nasal, except in the words which we have seen, and therefore the n is never pronounced with the next word when it belongs to a noun, or to an adjective immediately followed by a preposition; ex., donjon obscur, ce ruban est joli, ce fruit est déjà bon à manger, &c.

Final n in adjectives of quality, and in possessive pronounsadjective, articulates the initial syllable of the next word, unless, as we said before, the adjective be followed by a preposition; ex., mon ami, son humeur, bon enfant, &c.

The n of the pronoun on articulates the initial syllable of the following word when it precedes the verb; ex., on_aime, on_ entend, on_en donne, on_y roit, on honore les gens vertueux, &c.; but not when it follows the verb; ex., y voit-on encore, peut-on entendre une musique plus harmonieuse, dit-on une chose, vite il en dit une autre, &c.

What has been said of the pronoun on applies also to the pronoun en, but not to the preposition en, the n of which is always pronounced with the initial syllable of the following word, of course when that syllable begins with either a vowelform or h not aspirated. Thus n will be pronounced with the next word in j'en ai un peu, je vais en_Italie, &c.; whilst it will be nasal in donnez-m'en un peu s'il vous plaît, &c.

The letter n of the adjective un (some call it an article) always articulates the initial syllable of the following word, when it is used with a noun, and the next word begins with a vowel-form or h not aspirated; ex., j'ai un_ami, voilà un aimable enfant, il y a un homme dans l'antichambre, un will always be nasal when it is used without a noun expressed

&c.;

but

pas

(it is then a pronoun), and also though the noun be expressed when the following word begins with a consonant or h aspirated; as in j'ai un bon cheval, j'en ai un à vendre, un héros méme n'est à l'abri de la médisance et de la calomnie; j'en connais un à qui la basse jalousie n'a laissé que ce qu'elle n'a pu lui ôter, &c. Observe that the nasality of on, en, un is not quite lost when the n articulates the initial syllable of the following word; there seems to be another n introduced, just as in the word enivrer and its derivatives, which are pronounced as if they were written annivrer, annivrement, désannivrer, &c.; the syllable an, however, not being quite so nasal as if it stood alone.

N is always nasal in the nouns bien and rien; but it preserves its proper value, and articulates the initial syllable of the following word, when bien and rien are adverbs, and the words immediately following are modified by them and begin with a vowel-form, or h not aspirated; thus n will be nasal in il a un bien immense, but it will articulate the following syllable in elle est bien aimable, &c.

When a word ends with two consonants, the former of which is pronounced, the latter is generally silent.

All the directions that might be given on the transfer of the final consonant of words in the French language to the initial syllable of the following word, are based upon euphony; let, therefore, the reader take it for his guide, and he is sure to succeed.

But what precedes is far from being sufficient, in order to read well. Pauses are to be observed in reading, whether they be marked by written punctuation or not.

III. Observe then the punctuation.

Now the comma (,) is the shortest of all pauses, and even sometimes is not to be regarded at all; for there are cases in which it is merely used in order to enable the reader to understand the real meaning of a sentence, which would have a different purport, were it not for the use of the comma.

The pause marked by the semicolon (;) is rather longer than that of the comma, and in proportion to the time necessary to breathe.

The colon () generally points out a longer pause than the semicolon.

The longest of all pauses is indicated by either a period or full stop (.), a note of interrogation (?), or a note of exclamation (!).

To the foregoing pauses we must add those which, though they are not marked by written punctuation, yet must be observed in reading with quite as much care as the former. Thus, there may be a pause equal to that of the comma; 1st, between the subject and its verb, when the subject is expressed by more than one pronoun, or by a noun and its adjuncts; as, l'habitude est me seconde nature; les grandes pensées | viennent du cœur,* &c.; and if the words which relate to the subject form an entire clause, there must be a pause before, and another after, the member which completes the signification of the subject; as, les bons conseils | qu'on donne à la jeunesse | ne seraient pas si souvent perdus, si la plupart de ceux qui les donnent | se conduisaient eux-mêmes d'après les préceptes qu'ils préchent, &c.

2nd. After every adverb which does not modify the following word; as, l'armée française combattit valeureusement à la bataille du mont St. Jean, &c.

3rd. After almost every conjunction beginning a sentence, and after every interjection.

4th. Before and after every quotation and parenthesis, whether they be marked or not by printed signs.

IV. The tone of the voice must be raised before a pause, if the sense is not complete; on the contrary, it must be lowered when the sense is complete.

When both the subject and the verb are unattended by adjuncts, there is no pause admissible between them; Alexandre parla, Scipion partit, &c.

The words representing the idea upon which the reader wishes to fix the attention of his hearers should be pronounced more slowly, and in a higher tone than the accessory words which complete or explain the principal idea.

The tone of the voice is generally sustained; the intonation should vary according to the accent required by every figure. The transition from one tone of the voice to another must be marked only by semi-tones, or demy-semi-tones.

Nature and observation, far better than any rule, will teach what intonations are required to express interrogation, irony, hatred, love, admiration, or any other passion or feeling.

It may be observed, in the last place, that the reader should never lose his composure, whatever be the emotions he feels. Gesture is also out of place in reading, and can be tolerated (it is said) only in teachers, when instructing their pupils.

OF PUBLIC SPEAKING AND SOLEMN READING.

All that has been said in the preceding chapter on reading, with the exception of the last paragraph, applies also to public speaking and solemn reading, where the pronunciation is, however, more slow, and therefore more distinct, which enables the speaker carefully to observe, in every sentence, that the prosodical accent is put upon the syllables that require it, as well as the oratorial accent upon the proper words.

Great care must also be taken not to confound the prosodical and the oratorial accents.

It is not sufficient, in public speaking, to have a correct pronunciation of the written sounds; it is necessary that the speaker should besides have the expression of his features in harmony with the different passions that he has to describe. A noble and imposing attitude, a silence judiciously interposed, one single look has, indeed, sometimes a more powerful effect than the most striking argument.

Let the speaker, as well as the reader, always bear in mind these words of one of the great masters in this art: "The soul has its natural expression in the features, gesture, and voice."

Long and tedious treatises have been written, in order to establish rules for declamation; but, since we may say that there are as many sorts of declamation as there are sentiments or passions, the speaker cannot do better than to follow the teaching of nature, his best guide in all cases.

H