A compound word is one that is composed of two or more simple words; as, watchman, nevertheless.

Permanent compounds are consolidated; as, bookseller, schoolmaster: others are formed by the hyphen; as, shipbuilder, cotton-spinner.

SYLLABICATION.

In dividing words into syllables, we are chiefly to be directed by the ear; it may however be proper to observe the following rules.

I. The consonants should generally be joined to the vowels or diphthongs which they modify; as ap-os-tol-i-cal. II. Derivative and grammatical terminations should generally be separated from the radical word; as, harm-less, shame-ful, learned-ly.

III. Compounds should be divided into the simple words which compose them; as, match-man, never-the-less.

IV. At the end of a line, a word of two or more syllables may be divided, but a syllable cannot.

OF SPELLING.

Spelling is the art of representing words by their proper

letters.

Obs. Spelling is acquired by means of the dictionary, and by observation in reading, rather than by the study of written rules. In the orthography of our language many words are variously spelled by the best scholars, and many others are not usually written according to the analogy of similar words; but to be ignorant of orthography as established by our best dictionaries, is justly considered disgraceful. The following rules may be of service to the learner.

RULES FOR SPELLING.

RULE I. FINAL F, L, OR S.

Monosyllables ending in y; I, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant; as, staff, mill, pass: except if, of, as, gas, has, was, yes, is, his, this, us, thus,

RULE II.—OTHER FINALS.

Words ending in any other consonant than f, I, or s, do not double the final letter: except add, add, ebb, egg, inn, err, burr, purr, butt, buzz, fuzz, and some proper names.

What is a compound word? How do permanent compounds differ from others f What guide have we for dividing words into syllables? What are the special rules of syllabication? What is Spelling? How is this art to be acquired? How many ules fur spelling are there? and what are their heads? What says Rule 1st of alf, l, or s?-. Rule 2d, of other finals?

RULE III.—DOUBLING.

Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, when they end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double their final consonant before an additional syllable that begins with a vowel: as drum, drummer; admit, admitting.

Exc.—x final, being equivalent to ks, is never doubled.

RULE IV. NO DOUBLING.

A final consonant, when it is not preceded by a single vowel, or when the accent is not on the last syllable, should remain single before an additional syllable: as, fail, failing; merit, merited; moral, moralize.

Exc.—But I and s final are usually doubled, when the last syllable is not accepted: as, travel, traveller; bias, biassed.

RULE V.—FINAL LL.

Primitive words ending in l, generally reject one I, before ful, less, ly, and news: as, skill, skilful, skilles ; full, fully, fulness.

Obs.—Words ending in any other double letter preserve it double before these terminations; as, blissful, oddly, stiffness, carelessness.

RULE VI.—FINAL E.

The final e of a primitive word, is generally omitted before an additional termination beginning with a vowel: as, note, notable; force, forcible; hate, hating.

Exc.—Words ending in ce or ge, retain the e before able or ous, to preserve the soft sound of c and .- as, peace, peaceable; manage, manageable; courage, courageous.

RULE VII. FINAL E.

The final e of a primitive word is generally retained before an additional termination beginning with a consonant: as, tame, tameness; hope, hopeful.

Exc. When the e is preceded by a vowel, it is some

What says Rule 3d of the doubling of consonants ?—Rule 4th against the daub ing of consonants ?--- Rule 5tb of final li?—Rule 6th of final et?— Rule 7th of final e?

times omitted; as, true, truly; awe, awful: and sometimes retained; as, rue, rueful; shoe, shoeless.

RULE VIII. FINAL Y.

The final y of a primitive word, when preceded by a consonant, is changed into i before an additional termination; as, merry, merrier, merriest, merrily, merriment ; pity, pitied, pities, pitiest, pitiless, pitiful, pitiable.

Exc.—Before ing, y is retained to prevent the doubling of i; as, pity, pitying. Words ending in ie dropping the e by Rule 6th, change i into y, for the same reason; as, die, dying.

Obs.—When a vowel precedes, y should not be changed: as, day, days; valley, valleys; money, moneys; monkey, monkeys.

RULE IX. COMPOUNDS.

Compounds generally retain the orthography of the simple words which compose them; as, whereas, thereof, salesman, renew, uphill, shellfish.

Exc.—In permanent compounds, the words full and all drop one I; as, handful, careful, always, withal: in others, they retain both; as, full-eyed, all-wise, save-all.

EXERCISES IN ORTHOGRAPHY.

As spelling is to be learned from practice, rather than precept, the following examples of false orthography, which the pupil can correct by the foregoing rules, are merely given as specimens of those errors into which careless writers are most apt to fall. The best method of teaching correct spelling is, to dictate sentences, or paragraphs, to be taken down in writing by the pupil. He should also be frequently required to repeat the orthographical rules, so as to impress them upon his mind.

EXERCISE I.—CAPITALS.

1. In poetry, I have read Pope's essay on man, Milton's paradise lost, Cowper's task, and Johnson's vanity of human

What says Rule 8th of final y ?---Rule 9th of compounds?

wishes. In prose, I have read Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, the life and adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and Hume's history of england.

2. fear God. honour the king, love thy neighbour as thyself.

3. The titles omniscient and omnipotent, are applied to the supreme being, to indicate his boundless knowledge and power. He is also called god, because he is good; the creator, because he made all; and the eternal, because he is from everlasting to everlasting.

4. The crown of england was obtained by william the conqueror, duke of normandy, in consequence of the victory of hastings, and the death of harold.

5.

"Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee,
Jest and youthful jollity,

Sport, that wrinkled care derides,

And laughter holding both his sides."

6. National prejudices are often expressed in such epithets as, Spanish pride, italian effeminacy, dutch avarice, french levity, and english vanity.

7. Cæsar, describing the rapidity of one of his campaigns, wrote; "i came, i saw, conquered." The apostrophe is often used in oratory; as, o fortune, o fate, o deadly calamity. turn, gentle hermit of the dale,

8.

66

and guide my lonely way,

to where yon taper cheers the vale
with hospitable ray."

9. Let the churlish remember this saying: it is more blessed to give than to receive.

EXERCISE II.—SPELLING.

1. I broke my staf. To do, I have only to wil it. Pas this way. Smal sins are great dangers. Dost thou answer with an iff? He is always covetting. The scholar is improveing. He stumbles at a molehil.

2. Warr not with the dead. Study elegant penmanshipp. Of all fruits I love the figg and the pearr. Admitt the unfortunate.

8. Even the shadow of crime must be shuned. He was diging in the garden, and proping his vines. The usurper in siting down hazards an overseting. By the goodness of her riging she outstriped every vessel.

4. After toilling for yeara their work endded in nothing.

Flatterrers inflict deepper wounds than open enemies. Do you think to tranquillize the dying by tattling and gossipping? 5. Never willfully injure any one. Quacks sometimes pass for skillful men by assuming odity of manner. Listlesness and crosness make disagreeable society.

6. Inquireing scholars require convinceing teachers. Obligeing trifles promote dureable friendship. What deploreable folly may be exhibited in a man's clotheing! 7. Encouragment is the food of youthful improvment. has a weak judgment, and a guilful tongue..

He

8. Happyness may endure a few denyals. The vallies are filled with decaying trees. The allies are bestrewn with diing

leaves.

9. Can a mispent year be redeemed by a wel-spent day? The slothful man, afraid of the uphil road, fell asleep by the waterfal, and lost his pasport.

PART II.—ETYMOLOGY.

Etymology treats of the different parts of speech, into which words are divided, and their classes and modifications.

THE PARTS OF SPEECH.

The words of the English language are divided into ten sorts, or Parts of Speech; namely, the Article, the Noun, the Adjective, the Pronoun, the Verb, the participle, the Adverb, the Conjunction, the Preposition, and the Interjection.

1. The Article.—An Article is a word placed before nouns, to limit their meaning: there are two articles, a or an, and the.

2. The Noun.—A Noun is a word which is either the name of a person, animal, place, thing, or idea: as, George, man, dog, London, apple, truth.

Of what does Etymology treat? How many, and what are the parts of speech? What is an article ?--- Which are the articles? What is a noun ? What examples are given?