of that which forms the basis of our argument, except when this basis is the conclusion of some former argument. The degree of evidence for any proposition or sentiment which we assume as the foundation of our argument, or, as it is logically termed, the premiss, is not to be learned from Logic, nor, indeed, from any one distinct science; but must be decided by our knowledge of the subject itself. Thus, none but a Naturalist can rightly judge of the degree of evidence of a proposition in Natural History; a Politician, in Politics, &c. To arrive at truth in any argument, not only must the Premiss be correct, but the reasoning must be fairly deduced. process is the appropriate province of Logic.

This latter

9. Rhetoric, when legitimately employed, endeavours, by convincing the understanding, to reach the heart and influence the will. It requires a skilful application of the rules of Logic, great power of language, and an intimate knowledge of the springs of human action. The Rhetorician hesitates not to deviate from the strict grammatical arrangement of words, whenever a different arrangement will convey his meaning with greater effect. Though frequently rendered subservient to the vilest of purposes, yet the rules of Rhetoric, when skilfully and appropriately applied, may be the means of effectuating the most beneficial results.

10. From this brief explanation, the pupil will perceive that Grammar enables us to employ such inflections and constructions of words as are most appropriate for conveying our ideas; Logic, to deduce proper conclusions from assumed premises; and Rhetoric, not only to combine the two, but to introduce such additional principles as may adorn or invigorate the sentiments which we wish to communicate.

Some of the preceding paragraphs will be expanded in a subsequent portion of this work. See Verbal Criticism.

LESSON 2.

1. a. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is a collection of the most approved rules and principles of inflection and construction of the English Language, arranged in a systematic form.

b. English Grammar necessarily includes such principles as are common to all languages, as well as such as are peculiar to itself. The former, as just mentioned, belong to what is termed Universal Grammar, and the latter to Particular Gram

mar.

2. In English, as in every other language, there exist two modes of expression; namely, the colloquial or familiar, and the written or more approved mode. It is by the latter, as being more determinate and certain than the former, that the rules or forms of Grammar are determined.

3. English Grammar is divided into Five Parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, Punctuation, and Prosody.

1. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, and the just method of spelling words.

2. Etymology treats of the classification, inflection, and derivation of words.

3. Syntax treats of the agreement, government, connection, and proper arrangement of words in a sentence.

4. Punctuation treats of the division of a discourse into sentences, clauses, and members.

5. Prosody consists of two parts, Orthoëpy and Versification. Orthoëpy teaches the correct pronunciation of letters, the Accent and Quantity of syllables; and the nature of Emphasis, Pauses, and Tone.-Versification teaches the laws of Metre and the different Kinds of Verse.

PART I.-ORTHOGRAPHY.

4. a. ORTHOGRAPHY treats of letters, syllables, and the just method of spelling words.

b. Orthography is a term derived from glòs (orthos) correct, and yeάow (graphō) I write.-Orthography and Orthoëpy are thus distinguished: Orthography refers to the proper spelling of words, Orthoëpy to the pronunciation of them. The former is applicable to language as written, the latter to language as spoken. In this sense, Orthoëpy is properly a branch of Prosody, and may thus be considered.

OF LETTERS.

5. Letters are marks or characters used to represent the elementary sounds of language.

6. The letters of the English language, called the English Alphabet, are twenty-six in number, and are thus arranged:

7. Letters are divided into vowels and consonants.

A vowel is a letter that forms one continuous sound, without interruption of the passage of the breath; as, a, e, o.

A consonant makes only an imperfect sound of itself;

as, b, c, d, which cannot be distinctly articulated unless it is joined to a vowel.

8. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and w and y, when they do not begin a word or syllable. When w and y do begin a word or syllable they are generally considered as con

sonants.

9. a. The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z.

b. Consonants are sometimes divided into mutes and semi-vowels. The mutes are those consonants, whose sounds cannot be protracted; they are b, d, k, p, q, t, and c and g hard. In pronouncing the names of the mutes, the assistant vowels follow the consonants. The semi-vowels, or half-vowels, are those letters whose sounds may be continued at pleasure, and thus they partake of the nature of vowels. The semi-vowels are f, l, mn, r, s, y, z, z, and c and g soft. In pronouncing the names of the semi-vowels, the vowels generally precede the consonants. L, m, n, r, are also called liquids, because, after a mute, their sound is, in some measure, liquidated or diminished, so as easily to unite with a mute in the same syllable.

c. Consonants are likewise divided into labials, or those letters which are sounded by the lips, as, b, f, p, v; into dentals, sounded by the teeth, as, s, z; into palatals, sounded by the gums, as, d. t, and soft g and j; into gutturals, sounded by the throat, as, k, q, and c and g hard; into nasals, sounded by the nose, as, m, n; into linguals, or letters sounded by the tongue, as, l, r.

10. A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one compound sound; as, ou in ounce.

The term diphthong, or double sound, is properly applied to those combinations only in which both vowels are sounded, as oi in boil. Those combinations, in which only one of the vowels is sounded, and usually called improper diphthongs, might, with greater propriety, be designated digraphs or double writing, as ea in breath. The vowels in these digraphs or improper diphthongs had formerly their separate and distinctive pronunciation; but, în lapse of time, one of them has lost its original influence.

11. A triphthong is the union of three vowels in one compound sound; as, iew in view.

The Sounds of the different Letters.

LESSONS 3, 4.

12. A has four sounds, as heard in fate, fall, glass, far. The diphthong aa is short, as, in Canaan: but sometimes it is sounded as if in two syllables, as, in Baal. Ae has the sound of long e, as, Eneas; Ai of long a, as, in pail, tail, except plaid, again, raillery, Britain, mountain, and a few others. Au has generally the sound of the broad a, as, in taught; sometimes of the short or open a, as, in aunt, jaunt, &c.; sometimes au is sounded like long o in hautboy, but like short o in laurel, laudanum, &c. Aw has the sound of broad a, as, in bawl. Ay has the long slender sound of a, as, in pay, except quay, pronounced key.

13. E has three sounds; a long sound, as, in scheme; a short one, as, in men ; and an obscure one, as, in open, sometimes it has the sound of middle a, as, in clerk; sometimes of short i, as, in England. E, at the end of a word, either softens the preceding consonant, as in rage; or lengthens the preceding vowel, as, pin, pine. Ea is generally sounded like e long, as, in appear; sometimes it has the short sound of e, as, in breath; and sometimes of long a, as, in break; or of a in far, as, in heart. Eau has the sound of long o, as, in beau; but in beauty and its compounds, it has the sound of long u. Ei has generally the sound of long a, as, in vein; frequently of long e, as, in seize; sometimes of short i, as, in foreign. Eo is pronounced like e long, as, in people; sometimes like short e, as in leopard: as short u, as, in dungeon, sturgeon, &c. Euand ew have the sound of long u, as, in

feud, dew;-in sew, shew, &c. ew sounds like long o. Ey, when accented, sounds like a long, as, in bey, except in key, ley; ey, unaccented, sounds like e long, as, in valley.

14. I has a long sound, as, in fine, and a short one, as, in fin. Before r it is often sounded like u short, as, in flirt. In some words it has the sound of e long, as, in machine. Ia generally sounds like ya, as, in filial; sometimes it has the sound of short i, as, in carriage. Ie sounds like long e, as, in grief; sometimes like long i, as, in die; and sometimes like short i, as, in sieve. Ieu has the sound of long u, as, in lieu. Io, when accented on the first vowel, forms two syllables, as, in violent. The terminations, tion and sion, are sounded like shun, except when s or a precedes the t, as, in question, mixtion.

15. O has three sounds, as, in no, not, move. It sometimes has the short sound of u, as in son. Oa has the long sound of o, as, in boat, except in broad, abroad, groat, where it takes the sound of broad a, abrawd. Oe has the sound of single e, as, in Antoeci; sometimes it is sounded as long o, as, in doe, foe, sloe, throe, hoe, bilboes. Oi has the sound of a broad and e long united, as, in boy; as, boil, toil. Oo is generally pronounced as in moon; but in wool, good, foot, and a few others, it is short; in blood, flood, it sounds like short u; door, floor, are pronounced as if written dore, flore. Ou has six sounds: 1st, its general sound of ow, as, in bound; 2nd, of short u, as, in enough; 3rd, of oo, as, in youth; 4th, of long o, as, in though; 5th, of short o, as, in cough; 6th, is that of awe, as, in ought. Ow is generally sounded like ou in thou, as, in brown; sometimes like long o, as, in snow. Oy is sounded like oi, of which it is only another form.

16. U has three sounds, as, in mule, tub, full. The words busy, business, bury, burial, are deviations; they are sounded as bizzy, bizness, berry, berrial. Ua has sometimes the sound of wa, as, in assuage; and sometimes of middle a, as, in guard. Ue is frequently sounded like we, as, in quench; sometimes like u, as, in hue; but in a few words it is pronounced like e short, as, in guest; and in some words it is sunk, as, in antique, catalogue. Ui is pronounced like wi, as, in languid; sometimes as long i, as, in guide; sometimes as short i, as in guilt; sometimes like long u, as, in juice; and after r, as oo, as, in fruit. Uo is pronounced like wo, as, in quote. Uy has the sound of long e, as in obloquy (pronounced obloquee), except buy and its derivatives.

17. B has a uniform sound. In some words it is silent, as in debtor, subtle.

18. C sounds hard like k before a, o, u, l, r, t, and at the end of a syllable; before e, i, and y, it generally sounds soft like s; as, in centre, city, cymbal; but sometimes as sh, as, in ocean, social.

C is mute in czar, czarina, victuals, indict, muscle, &c.

Ch is generally sounded like tch, as, in church. In words derived from the Greek ch sounds k, as, in chorus; also in Scripture names, as, Enoch. In words derived immediately from the French, ch has the sound of sh, as, in chaise.

Ch in arch, before a vowel, sounds like k, as, in archangel, except in arched, archery, archer, and arch-enemy, and in words of familiar formation, as, in archfiend; but in other respects it always sounds before a consonant like tch, as, in archbishop. Ch is silent in schism, yacht.

19. D has a uniform sound, except at the end of words ending in ed, when it frequently sounds as t, as, in stuffed.

20. F has a uniform sound, except in of, which has the sound of ov; but of, when forming only part of a word, is regular, as, whereof.

21. G is hard before a, o, u, l, r; as, in gat, go, gum, glow; except in gaol; it is frequently soft before e, i, and y; as, in genius, ginger, Egypt: but in get, gewgaw, finger, craggy, longer, stronger, and many others, it is hard.

G is mute before n, as, in gnash, impugn. Gh, at the beginning of a word, sounds as g hard, as, in ghost; in the middle, and sometimes at the end, it is silent, as, in plough. At the end, gh has sometimes the sound of f, as, in laugh; but generally gh at the end is silent, as in nigh, sigh.