Exercise 101.

On dropping the final 7 of simple words in composition.

RULE.-All and full always drop one l, as although, awful, except in compound words separated by a hyphen, as all-seeing, full-grown.

In all other words ending in ll, the contradictions of dictionary makers, correctors for the press, and our best writers, are so numerous, that nothing like a rule can be laid down.

It may, however, be remarked, that words ending in ll always drop one before the affixes less and ly, as skilless, dully.

Also, that there is a tendency among English (not American) writers to drop one 7, with some affixes and prefixes in many words, such as dulness, downfal, recal, enrol, distil.*

The spelling here given is that which seems to predominate among English writers.

Almost, withal, almighty, all-seeing, awful, albeit, fulfil, skilful, skilless, fulsome, bashful, &c.; wilful, fullness, full-dressed, unwell, welcome, farewell, welfare, stillness, dullness, smallness, tallness, bulldog, bulrush, bulwark, bellman, millstone, downfall, appal, enthral, thraldom, forestall, foretell, refill, undersell, enrol, repel, distil, befall, befell, waterfall, chilblain, shrillness, still-born, rebel, dispel.†

Perhaps the safer plan for the student to adopt, in the spelling of all these disputed words, is, to write them with two U's, excepting words with all and full, and a few other familiar ones, such as welfare, skilful, until, wilful, bulrush, fulfil, &c.

Note that all these words which drop the take it again in composition with other affixes, as rebel-led, dispel-ling.

Exercise 102.

In the spelling of compound words, in which the final letter of the prefix and the initial letter of the root, and the final letter of the root and the first letter of the affix, are the same, care must be taken not to drop one of the consonants.

N.B. In the spelling of all compound words having prefixes and affixes, the pupil should be taught to pull the word to pieces, and, having arrived at the root, to build the word up again, first by adding the prefix, then the affix, or vice versa.

He connived at the other's fault. They felt aggrieved. When immured in a dungeon, he saw an appalling apparition. Never misspend your time. A soulless man. Genteelly apparelled. The commissary was dissatisfied, and dissuaded his colleague. The barrenness of the land was irremediable. Railway collisions were of frequent occurrence. The suddenness of the attack alarmed him. Perfect symmetry of form. Great openness of manner was combined with eccentricity. The country was overrun with immigrants. Those innovations were illegally carried out.

occult, apprize, arraign, illiterate, syllogism, evenness, illicit, effervesce, dissimilar, dissolute, elliptical, allegory, dissension, appraised, annihilated, aggrandisement, irreproachable, acclimatisation, immured, illegible.

SECTION IX.

DIFFICULT AND PUZZLING TERMINATIONS.

Exercise 103.

The spelling of words ending in le must be distinguished from that of words having the same, or nearly the same sound, ending in al, el, il, ol, ul, yl. Compare apple, chapel; mettle, metal; spittle, Spitalfields.

The lamb gambols around the shambles. Take away that bauble. The thimble is the symbol of woman's industry. A fickle person. The Jewish shekel and the Chinese picul are weights. It was a miracle he did not cut himself with the sickle. Are you fond of pickle? Nickel is a metal. Manacles are handcuffs. A clerical chronicle. The critical moment arrived. A cycle of years. A pair of spectacles. Technical errors. Feudal times. A new mangle. The bridal party offered a medal for the best riddle. The caudal appendage of a French poodle. An iron kettle. The petals of a flower. He was muffled in furs. Shuffle the cards. The vulture feeds on offal. Doggrel verses. A stout cudgel. The panel of a jury. Coarse flannel. Carnal lusts. A charnel house. The Sibyl had a subtle manner.

Apostle. Vertical.

Exercise 104.

The Gospel was read in the chapel. Three scruples

make one drachm. A barrel of mussels.

Pencils

and chisels. A school-boy's sachel. Christmas carols. Salts of sorrel. Coral beads. He had a tassel to his cap. Tinsel is very evanescent. The mistral is called a N.E. wind in the Mediterranean. Put that whistle on the mantel piece. The teasel is a kind of thistle. A shoal of mackerel. The beryl is a jewel. Catch a weasel asleep. The biscuit was full of weevils. An attack of measles. Shrivelled myrtles. A swivel gun. They put gorgeous apparel on the prodigal son. A heavy vehicle. A metrical romance. The perusal of his epistle took some time. What a gay carnival! The citadel surrendered. There was not a particle of truth in that scandal. Spherical trigonometry.

recital, oracle, nostril, tonsil, cuticle, reciprocal, &c.

Exercise 105.

Words ending in cy, sy, with their inflexions in cies, sies.

Cy comes mostly from French words in nce, as excellency.

Sy from the Greek or Latin, as ecstasy.

Sound policy. An attack of pleurisy brought on a state of phrensy. The brilliancy of the daisy. The embassy observed great secrecy. He was found guilty of heresy and apostasy. He prophesies indeed, but his prophecies are nought. He received a cornetcy and then a lieutenancy. That controversy was not carried on with courtesy. She died either of epilepsy or dropsy.

busy, racy, fancy, leprosy, quinsy, pliancy, phantasy, secrecy, obduracy, proficiency, magistracies, poignancy, ecstasy, idiosyncrasy.

Exercise 106.

Words ending in re, chiefly from the French.

In words thoroughly naturalized, the letters have become transposed, as coffre, now spelt coffer; cidre, cider.

Filthy lucre. The king had his sceptre, and the bishop his mitre. Sepulchres are sombre places. The massacre of the innocents. Meagre fare. What is the calibre of those guns? The soldier's sabre and other accoutrements. The Caffre was painted with ochre.

ogre, acre, lustre, fibre, metre, spectre, vertibre, (philtre) cylinder, saltpetre, reconnoitre.

N.B. The re final is being gradually transposed into er, except in those words in which the spelling would be likely to mislead the pronunciation, as lucre, ogre, massacre, that is, after c and g.

Exercise 107.

Many words formerly ending in ck drop the k in their simple form, but resume it with affixes beginning with e, i, y. The reason of this is, that c has the soft or s sound before those vowels, and the k is therefore necessary to preserve the original sound.

Monosyllables and their compounds keep the k, except in a few foreign words, as lac of rupees, ticdoloreux; so also do proper names, as Frederick.

traffick, trafficking, trafficker, frolic, frolicking, frolicsome, colic, colicky, picnic, picnicked, bivouac, bivouacking, garlic, garlicky, mimic, mimicking, havoc, critic, laconic, hysteric, hysterically, almanac, cosmetic, physic, physicking, athletic, angelic, despotic, eccentric, fanatic, gigantic, hysterics, narcotic, statistics.