Are they living/, or dead'?
Is he rich', or poor'?
Does God, having made his creatures, take no further' care of them, or
does he preserve and guide them'?
REMARK.—Where or is used conjunctively, this rule does not apply; as,
Will the law of kindness' or of justice' justify such conduct'?
CIRCUMFLEX.
The circumflex is a union of the rising and falling inflections. Properly speaking, there are two of these, the one called the rising circumflex, in which the voice slides down and then up; and the other, the falling circumflex, in which the voice slides upward and then downward on the same vowel. They may both be denoted by the same mark, thus, (^). The circumflex is used chiefly to indicate the emphasis of irony, of contrast, or of hypothesis.
EXAMPLES.
1. Queen. Hamlet, you have your father much offended.
Hamlet. Madam, you have my father much offended.
2. They offer us their protec'tion. Yes', such protection as vultures give
to lambs, covering and devouring them.
3. I knew when seven justices could not make up a quarrel; but when the parties met themselves, one of them thought but of an if; as, If you said so, then I said so; O ho! did you say so! So they shook hands and were sworn brothers.