Exercise 72. Our world continually whirls round. Don't whine in that manner. That is vile wine. A sharp file. A bass viol. A vial or phial of vitriol. Venus, the goddess of beauty. Venous blood. The valleys of the Valais in Switzerland. That gentleman's valet lost his master's valise. Whether the weather be wet or not, we must look after the lost wether. The boar whets his tusks. Your wit is not a whit better than mine. A witling is a man of little wit. Some Americans have a habit of whittling a stick, or even the leg of the table. Whither are you going? The flowers begin to wither. Are you a whig? Wait while I put on my wig. Wile away the time with what you can. Wot ye not that it was I? Wat is the familiar name for Walter. Which do you prefer? Wizard and witch have the same derivation. The whaler bewails his hard fate, at having taken only 100 whales. He was very wicked. The Prince of Wales knocked the bails off the wicket. In days of yore. You're quite sure you have your own ewer, are you? Whitebait and whiting are fishes. Whitening is prepared chalk. What an unlucky wight! The Isle of Wight. SECTION V. WORDS SPELT EXACTLY ALIKE, THE SOUND OF WHICH IS VARIED BY ACCENT, AS CONSORT, CONSÓRT. Exercise 73. Nouns and adjectives have the accent on the first, verbs on the last syllable, in dissyllables, and the last but one in trisyllables. The convict has been thrice convicted. That contract is null and void. He contracts by the year. I conjure you do not conjure in my presence. What a contrast! Do not contrast them too closely. Hallam records that event; he took it from the state records. A transfer of the property. Transfer your claim to me. The ordnance survey. I'm monarch of all I survey. The murderer was respited, but the respite came too late. Moral attributes. Do you attribute that to me? The incense floating in the air. Don't incense me. Exercise 74. Words in se, spelt alike, but varied by the z sound in verbs, as use, v., use, n. Abuse is bad, so never abuse any person or thing. Excuse me, I will take no excuse. Grease the wheels with tallow grease. A fine house. The corn is all housed. Do not close the door this close weather. His style was diffuse, yet the whole book was diffused with irony. Don't chastise him, much as he deserves chastisement. E Exercise 75. In many words the verb is written with z or s, and the noun with c. Practice makes perfect, so practise much and often. He devises new schemes, but his devices seldom succeed. Devices on a shield. He devised his property among his kindred. To prize anything is to set a high price upon it. They chased the stag. Chevy Chace. The plate was richly chased. Unbounded licence. To license printing. That licensed victualler had two licences. Practising on the piano. Eschew evil practices.* The spelling of c for the noun and s for the verb is very irregular with English writers. In the Game Licences issued in 1866, licence and license were both written as the noun. Webster has practice, licence, both noun and verb. SECTION VI. DOUBLE CONSONANTS. Bb, cc, dd, ff, gg, ll, mm, nn, pp, rr, ss, tt, zz. N.B.-Monosyllables seldom end in a single f, s, 1, or z. The exceptions are, as, us, has, gas, this, thus, if, of, yes, quiz, &c. A single s seldom ends any word, except as the inflexion of nouns and verbs, and in the following: alas! bias, canvas (coarse cloth), omnibus, &c., and the compounds of mass, as Christmas. Exercise 76. Ebb tide. New-laid eggs. An ell of cloth. Doff your hat. Banns of marriage. You err greatly. Cats purr. The ass liked chaff. The tall lass had a doll in her muff. He lolls at the inn door. The bell tolls for mass. Bees buzz. Bullets whizz. Serpents hiss. A gruff voice. Two butts of sherry. Bulls butt with their horns. Lloyd is a Welsh name. Exception. Coal gas. Exercise 77. A cobbler's stall. He drew the sword, and threw away the scabbard. A rapid eddy. The dog's kennel. Gibbet and gallows. It puzzles me why you giggle. A carrion crow. Cabbages and carrots. The caitiff wore handcuffs. A grizzly bear. gizzard of a buzzard. A haggard face. Immense traffic. Drizzling rain. The sheriff had a warrant. The Can you suggest a cure for the hiccoughs? A stirrup cup. His name is in the gazette. What a coquette ! Ñ.B.-A strong bias. His mind was biassed. A canvas tent. Did you canvass for votes? Alas! poor Yorick! Christmas day. cribbage, doggrel, flaccid, mammon, dizzy, tariff, plaintiff, balloon, cesspool, proffer, scraggy, allure, puzzle, corvette, assess, harass, ellipse. Exercise 78. A strong garrison. The assassin of the President. The Apennines swarm with banditti. Chiccory in the coffee. The attorneys and barristers exaggerated the business. A robbery was committed in the shrubbery adjoining the nunnery. He embezzled money. Paraffin oil. A colossal statue stood in the colonnade. The assailants were stopped by a barricade. Llewellyn is a Welsh name. Ammonia effervesces with acids. essential, cannibal, satellite, allegory, assaulted, saccharine, eccentricities, Michaelmas, scurrilous, coquetting, gazetted, garotted, pusillanimity, harass, embarrass, tyrannize, inflammable, philippics. Further examples of double consonants are given in that section treating on prefixes and affixes. Exercise 79. The student is apt to be often misled by the accent, or by ignorance of the derivation, to double the consonant in the middle of words. The following exercises of mixed words are therefore added for practice. He announced his presence annually by sending an anonymous letter. Anointed king. An immense amount of ammunition. A comma is a short pause. |