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in a fecondary manner. No perfon can, in my humble opinion, lay 

 a ftrefs or emphafis on any fyllable without making it long, nor 

 is it ever made long (I will not fay it is abfolutely impoffiblc, 

 I fpeak of the fad) without either elevating or depreffing the 

 voice. Let any m.an try to exprefs ftrongly the negative, I cannot^ 

 he will fpeak with an acute accent, elevate his voice, lay an em- 

 phafis, and prolong the fyllable. I remember a celebrated member of 

 a houfe of parliament, not long ago, remarkable for his circumflex on 

 this very word. Mr, Priniatt highly commends an author on the ac- 

 cents, who fays, no elevation of the voice can be made fenfible 

 in pronouncing, whatever mny be done in finging, * without fome 

 ftrefs or paufe, which is always able to make a lliort fyllable long. I 

 fay, converfely, that no ftrefs or paufe is ever made without fome 

 elevation of the voice, either purely, i. e. in an acute tone, or 

 mixed, that is, in an acute tone ending in a grave, and com- 

 monly called a circumflex. 



It will be afked then what is the ufe of metre or meafure in 

 verfe, if we arc not to read by it ; and here is the grand difii- 

 culty, and I own with candor I cannot anfwer it with perfedl 

 fatisfadtion to my own mind : to thofe indeed who fay we are 

 to read by accent in profe, it may be equally aflced what is the 

 ^ ufe 



• The treatife on the profodies argues, that in mufic length of found and acutenefs 

 of tone are not always united, and endeavours to confute Mr. Primatt, who attempts 

 to account for this, without admitting that it can be fo in fpcikiag. 



