1804.] 
fafficiently {atisfa@ory; and that the. 
faét thus difcovered appears to me an 
important addition to the means of prac- 
tical improvement in elocutionary f{cience. 
It I may be permitted to judge of the 
fuccefs of my own experiments, the appli- 
cation of the fuggeition has added at leaft 
ene more to the manageable varieties, and 
modifications of vocal intonation. Indeed, 
if the whole of my theory and that of 
Mr. Gough be not fallacious, ‘this 
muft eventually be the cafe: as ucthing 
is more clear than that the improvement 
of any faculty muft neceflarily depend, 
in a very confiderable degree, upon the 
accurate comprehenfion of the inftrumen- 
tality by which the funétions of that 
faculty are carried on; and as the human 
voice is not fo ftriftly {peaking a fingle 
inftrument, as a-concert of many inftru- 
ments, whole refpective powers and cha- 
racteriflic tones.are exceedingly different 
from each other; and as we have, evi- 
denily, the power, by the ations, com- 
preffions, tenfions, pofitions, and relaxa- 
tions of the relpective voluntary mutcles 
connected with each and ail of thefe, to 
divest (partially or intirely) the influen- 
tial or fécondary vibrations, that refpond 
to the original impulfes of the larynx, 
through one, or other, or feveral, or all 
of thefe, as occafion, or inclination re- 
quire, he who beft knows the refpeétive 
poitions of this automatic band, from 
which the different intonaticns are to be 
elicited, .will, neceflarily, be beft enabled 
to command the correfpondent tones, 
which the {feveral paffions, fentimeats, 
and combinations of language may re- 
quire; and every difcovery which extends 
the jult theory of vocal vibrations, ex- 
tends, accordingly, the practicable powers 
of elocutionary expretfion. " 
iam, Sir, your’s, &c. 
J. THELWALL, - 
Lancafter, 15 Nov. 1303. 
eR I 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
I enquiries made by Mr. Barrett, in 
p- 400 of your laf{ number, becaufe 
what he is projecting as a novelty, has 
been already before the public fince the 
‘month of April lat. 
At the end of “ An Eafy Grammar 
of Geography by the Rev. J. Goldfinith,”’ 
will be found a vocabulary of proper 
names of places divided and accented, in 
the way in which they are vfually pro- 
mounced, The author of that work con- 
we 
¢ 
Pronunciation of Names of Places. 
 Jerable accuracy, 
Was in fome degree furprifed at the 
qi 
fulted fome of the mof learned men in 
this country, before it was put to prefs, 
who gave it as a decided opinion, that 
no general rules can be laid down for the 
pronunciation of certain combinations 
of letters in the names of places. Thus 
the fo, fch, ch, to which Mr. B. refers, 
will in proper names have different pow- 
ers according to the language of the coun- 
try, to which the place belongs: in 
Rochelle, for inftance, the name of a town 
in France, the ch, muft be pronounced as 
je, and accerdingly in the Vocabulary 
alluded to, it is put * Ro-chelle (pro- 
nounced Ro-fhelle),”? To take another 
intance or two from the fame work, 
Brac-ci-a-no, and Ro-mag-na, provinces 
of Italy; if the cz, and the @, in the 
former, and the g, in the latter were, or 
could be, reduced, to Englifh pronouncia- 
tion, or in other words, if a general rule 
could be given, there would be no difh- 
culty: but as that is impoflible, thofe 
words in Gold{mith’s Grammar ftand as 
follows, ** Brac-ci-a-no (pronounced Bra- 
** chi-ar-no) : Ro-mag-na (pronounced 
*¢ Ro-m/a-na).” Other inftances no 
lefs firiking might be felected from the 
{ame little work, but thefe are fufficient 
to thew Mr. Barrett, that he is feeking 
what is not pofflible to be found. If he 
refer to Gold{mith’s Grammar, he will 
alfo fee that care has been taken not only 
to divide the feveral words into fyllables, 
but alfo, to lay the accent on the proper 
fyllable, affording at once a fort of ttand- 
ard to the fcholar, and, in doubtful cafes, 
to the preceptor alfo. 
Mr. B. fays that, as ‘* many refpectable 
perfons affociate all their geographical 
knowledge, with names which they have 
few opportunities of hearing pronounced, 
and {fo fubjeét themfelves to unmerited 
ridicule, it cannot be doubted that affit- 
-ance in this refpeét, if afforded with to- 
would be found particu- 
larly ufeful.’’ 
Of this affifance, I have, Sir, fhown, 
the public is already in poffeifion. And I 
beg leave to remark that the fole caufe 
of the other complaint, viz. that geogra- 
phical knowledge is almeft always con~ 
fined to names, has originated from the 
flovenly way in which intreductory works 
of Geography are ufuaily written. In _ 
fome we meet with a mere colle&tion of 
names, defcriptions of boundaries, and 
other technical terms, which it is almost 
impoffible for a pupil to commit to me- 
mory, and, if learnt, convey to the mind 
no practical information ; in others, there 
wi AAS 
le labled heal 
