guity on the other: this sail; his tears; his precepts are recorded; last still night; lasts till night; from more than nine; all left this city; God's commands.

Represent and Analyze stagger, phlegmatic, unnatural, accent, soulless, missile, misspell, mission, breadths, hundredths, allotted, appetite, acquiesce, currency, wheyey, rapine (not e), sacrilege, sacrilegious (e), ordinance, ordnance.

LESSON XXV.

There are certain syllables, mostly terminal, which contain no vowel-sound. These usually, perhaps always, contain the letter or n; thus, table, given, mantle, deacon,-pronounced tā-bl, giv-n (not giv-en), man-tl,

dě-kn.

Pronounce bl, dl, fl, gl, kl, pl, sl, tl, vl, zl.

Pronounce, with the vowel, bel, del, fel, gel, kel, pel, sel, tel, vel, zel. Now, alternately with and without, bl, bel, dl, del, fl, fel, gl, gel, kl, kel, pl, pel, sl, sel, tl, tel, vl, vel, zl, zel. Do this until you can readily omit or insert the vowel at will.

Most words ending in el have the e sounded. Indeed, the following list contains all the common words ending in el in which the e is silent. Memorize the list, carefully avoiding the utterance of either "short e" or "short u" before the l. Remember that in all other words ending in el the e is sounded.

E before I is silent in chattel, drivel, easel, grovel, hazel, mantel, navel, ravel, shekel, shovel, shrivel, snivel, swingel (g), swivel, teazel, weazel, and their derivatives.

Pronounce vl, vil, zn, zin.

I before terminal 7 or n is commonly sounded; but it is suppressed in the words devil, evil, weevil, basin, cousin, raisin.

O is sounded (as "short u") in Briton, cordon, diapason (z), ebon, horizon, piston, ribbon, sexton, tendon, wanton; also (as o) in pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, &c. When terminal on is preceded by cor k, as in deacon, bacon, beckon, the o is suppressed; also in many other words.

Represent and Analyze sword, sward, slough, stanchion, sovereignty, audacious, audacity, rapacious,

civil, matin, doughty, compromise, indict, tunnel, presentiments, courte-sy, quarrelsome, exordium (sonant x).

LESSON XXVI.

Pronounce vn, ven, tn, ten, dn, den, shn, shen, ln, len, pn, pen, fn, fen. The termination en, unlike el, usually drops the e. E before n is sounded in aspen, chicken, hyphen, gluten (ũ), kitchen, lichen (īk), linden, marten, mitten, rowen, sudden, and in any word not a participle, in which terminal en is preceded by l, m, n or r-as pollen, women, woolen, omen, cognomen, linen, siren.

66

All participles in en (except, possibly, bounden), all verbs of this ending in which the en means to make," and all adjectives in which the terminal en signifies "made of," suppress the e; thus, given, gladden, wooden. The adjective yewen, made of yew, is a necessary exception, as to make the e silent would reduce the word to a monosyllable. Find three words to illustrate each of these three classes.

Represent and Analyze spirit, tortoise, Palestine, Niagara, isolate, widen, patent, pretty (not e), amenably, soften, barrel, legible, linguist, Xenophon, suffice, sacrifice, discern, tournament (e), joust, pommel (not o).

LESSON XXVII.

C, s, and t are often equivalent to the sound of sh, and are then said to be "aspirated," as in dimension, censure, ocean, negotiation. This takes place only when the consonant is immediately followed by e, i, or u-vowels intimately related to the vowel-consonant y. [If the pupil would know why the element y should have this effect, let him attempt to pronounce in quick succession pres-yus, kō-ĕrs-yun, lēż-yur, e-vāz-yun.]

Of the three elements, s, y, and sh, which is formed. with an intermediate position of the tongue?

S is also said to be "aspirated" when it has the sound of zh. This occurs in the termination sion when preceded by a vowel, as in collision, evasion; also in many words in which terminal sure or sier is preceded by an accented

vowel, as in treasure, leisure, osier, and in ambrosia, elysium, scission, and their derivatives.

The changing of t or ti to ç, thus kwes-chun for kwestyun, is authorized, as is also the substitution of j for d or di, as in sōljēr for sōld-yer. In oral drill, however, it is well to aim at a pronunciation not less rigorous and labored than that employed in dignified discourse. Our leading orthoëpists, while countenancing the pronunciation indicated in the second column below, more heartily approve that of the first.

Say kwest-yun rather than kwes-çun.

sold-yer 66
fer-nit-yūr
krist-yan

For kuv-e-çus and tē-jus there is no defense: say kuvet-us, ted-yus.

Pronounce without the "aspirate," calceated, caseous, osseous, roseate, enthusiast, odious; with the "aspirate," issue, conscientious, nausea, pronunciation, denunciation, enunciation, facial (in two syllables), oceanic, tissue, visual; also prescious (pre-shi-us), prescience (pre-shi-ens).

Represent and Analyze covetous, tedious, tremendous, satiate, sumac, sugar, officiate, partiality, plenteous, onerous, beauteous, licorice, osseous, noxious, mensuration, issue, mechanician, manufactory, usury, figure.

LESSON XXVIII.

In

In sceptic and schirrous, c has the sound k. In discern, sice (six), suffice, and sacrifice, it has the force of z. all other English words, when followed by e, i, or y, and not" aspirated," it has the sound s, as in reciprocity, and is called " c soft."

G, when followed by e, i, or y, has the sound j, and is said to be soft. Fortunately for the learner, the excep tions to this rule, though many, are chiefly words which he hears every day, such as geese, longer, gift, foggy. The following exceptions may be less familiar: gelding, gewgaw, conger, gibber, gibberish, gibbous, gimbals, geest, gerrymander, geyser.

When h intervenes between e, i, or y and a preceding g, the g is hard, as in ghee, burgher, gherkin.

Blamable is from blame, the final e of the primitive

being dropped; so, too, in reversible, receivable. Why not from change, manage, peace, and trace, write changable, peacable, &c.?

Ch has three values in English, as exemplified in the three lists below:

1. Child, chaff, chalk, chap, char, check, cherry, chest, chicken, church, churl, charm [from the Anglo-Saxon]; chance, chair, chalice, challenge, chamber, champion, chain, chancel, chancery [from the French, but modified].

2. Chaise, chagrin, challis (s silent), chamois, (s silent), champagne, charade, chenille, chevalier, chicanery, chute [from the French, and still retaining the French sound of ch].

3. Character, chameleon, chalybeate, chaos, parochial, archetype, bronchitis, chirography, magna charta, choral, chronicle, chyle from the Greek or Latin].

Represent and Analyze dost, tertiary, apothegm, apothegmatic, February, conjuror, sacrament, chasten, portentous, sagacious, nether, giaour, cosmetic, elongate, humor, humble, hospital, herb, hostage, geyser.

PRINCIPLES

AND

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

1. Good reading is expressing, in vocal tones, the thoughts and feelings of a written or printed composition.

2. There are many kinds of thoughts and feelings, and consequently, many kinds of tones will be required to express them.

3. Some thoughts are' vigorous, energetic, betokening. that the mind is thoroughly aroused and ready to put forth its powers forcibly. Others are indicative of a cool and deliberate state of mind, in which it is prepared to deal with every-day matters of fact. Again, the mind may be weighed down by sorrow, animated with joy, distracted with fear, or softened with pity, and each of these states may be adequately expressed by the tones of the human

voice.

4. Tones may differ from each other in several ways, as in pitch, in volume, in rapidity of utterance, and in force; and it is by a judicious adjustment of these differences that the voice is made expressive.

5. It is convenient to consider about three degrees each, of Force, Speed, Pitch, and Volume of Voice.

Force may be moderate, soft, or loud.
Speed may be moderate, slow, or fast.
Pitch may be medium, low, or high.
Volume may be moderate, slight, or full.

6. When the mind is in an unexcited state, it expresses itself with moderate force. When pressed by sorrow, or filled with pity or affection, it uses soft tones. When aroused to resistance or indignation or defiance or denunciation or joy, it speaks in loud tones.

*The reading here meant is reading aloud.