ing in -uate; actual, and the rest in -ual. When a q precedes thefe terminations, it must not be forgotten that the u is attached to the 9, and has, as ufual, the effect of w; as in adequate, antiquate, equal, &c.

UE, at the end of words, is often merely a substitute for the long u, to prevent the unusual appearance of terminating words in u (fee p. 18.); ex. due, fue, value, &c.: and after lor r takes, like u itself, the found of oo long; as in blue, rue, accrue, &c. In fome words u is inferted between g and e, without any other effect than that of preferving the hard found of g, which it is the property of e to destroy: ex. guess, guerdon, guerkin (fpelt alfo gherkin). In this manner UE becomes an occafional fubftitute for the final E, lengthening the preceding vowel, and at the fame time preferving the hardness of the g; as in plague, vague, intrigue, rogue, brogue, vogue, &c. There are a few words of this form, in which the g indeed is hardened, but the preceding vowel is not lengthened; as harangue, tongue,

tongue, demagogue, pedagogue, fynagogue, prologue; and the reft in -logue. In cruël, crüët, gruël, fuët, and in words terminated in -uity and -uence, the vowels are separately pronounced, though in the latter inftances rapidly fo alfo in puerile, fluënt.

:

UI is formed, like UE, by the infertion of u between G and a vowel which would foften it; as in guide, guile, disguise, guild, guilt, guinea, guitar; in the three first of which words it is pronounced like i long, in the four laft like i fhort. It reprefents the fhort 1 in a few other instances: build, circuit, bifcuit. The found of oo long is heard in bruife, cruife, fruit, juice, recruit, fluice; that of u long in fuit, nuifance, puifne, pursuit, cuirass. Cuifs is pronounced with the French found cweefs:

"I faw young Harry with his beaver up,
"His cuiffes on his thighs, gallantly armed."
Hen. IV. P. I. Act. iv. Sc. I.

In fruition, genuine, puissant, tenuity, aguish, bruit, ruin, the vowels are pronounced separately; though in fome, as bruit and puiffant, fo rapidly, as to be equivalent only to one fyllable in verse, G 4

Left

Left any doubt fhould arife, I shall add the rest of those words in which ui has its regular found of wi: languid, linguift, penguin, purfuivant, guiacum, and those terminated in -guish.

It is not neceffary to give a feparate fection to Uy, which occurs only in buy, where it founds like long I ; and plaguy, roguy, low and familiar words, where it has the effect of the y final unaccented (fee p. 41.) nor to uou, which, like EOU and IOU, is only contracted into one fyllable by the hafte of common fpeech, or for the convenience of poetic use,

CHAP.

CHA P. VIII,

Of the Confonants.

HE confonants are liable to fewer

TH

irregularities than the vowels; yet concerning most of them it will be neceffary to fay fomething.

Has one unvaried found, which needs not explanation nor exemplification. It is usually filent when it follows m in a termination, as in lamb, climb, dumb, &c. but it is spoken in rhomb, and I believe alfo in accumb and fuccumb. It is filent before in the fame fyllable, as in debt, doubt, redoubt; alfo in fubtile or fubtle, but is pronounced in fubtilize. It is filent in ambs-ace, which is even written without it fometimes, as ames-ace.

§ 2. C Regular.

C has two regular founds: 1ft, that of which it takes when followed by a, o, u, or a confonant, b excepted; as in cart, common, curd, &c.: 2d, that of s, which is given to it before e, i, or y; as in cement, city, cynic. Sometimes, by the concurrence of two c's, followed by an i, these two effects are united; as in flaccid, ficcity: ks or x would equally reprefent this found, as flakfid, flaxid, fikfity, &c. When c ftands between fand e, or between fandi, its found is not perceivable; as in be fcent, fcene, fcion: but this letter cannot omitted, fince it ferves to diftinguish those words in writing from others of fimilar found, as fent, feen, Sion. When the hard found of c is required before e ori, kis fubftituted, as in fkiff, fkim; the etymology of which rather requires c. Sceptic gives to c before e the found of k; but Dr. Johnson very properly propofes to alter the orthography to skeptic*.

C Final.

Qu. Should not the c be pronounced hard in fciomachy, or fciamachy (as it fhould rather be)? and