LESSON XVII.

SHAKE. An earthquake shakes the hills (agitates; causes to tremble).-Nothing could shake his determination (change; weaken).

SHRINK. Woolen cloth shrinks in hot water (contracts). He will not shrink from danger (withdraw; retire).—I shrink from the contemplation of such suffering (recoil in horror).

SNAP. The wind snaps the mast (breaks).-The dog snaps at every one (tries to bite). SPARE. I can not spare more (part with).-Spare the life of the prisoner (forbear to destroy).

SPRING. The dog springs at the game (jumps; leaps).-Much good will spring from it (come; proceed).—The vessel has sprung a leak (commenced leaking).

STAND. The house yet stands (is not demolished).-London stands on the Thames (is situated).-Our government has stood more than eighty years (existed).-He stands first in order (is placed; ranks).-He can not stand the cold (endure).

STICK. We stick a pin on the sleeve (thrust in).-He sticks it on with glue (fastens).The carriage sticks in the mire (stops; is held fast).-He sticks at no difficulty (stops; hesitates).

STRIKE. The arrow struck the mark (hit).-The roots of the tree strike deep (penetrate). The clock strikes one (sounds).—It struck me with surprise (impressed strongly). SWEEP. Let him sweep the room (clean with a brush or broom).-The water swept away the bridge (carried; bore).-The cholera swept off multitudes (destroyed). TEND. Shepherds tend their flocks (watch; guard).-From that point the river tends southward (moves; is in the direction).—I fear it will tend to their destruction (contribute; lead to).

IV. ADVERBS.

CLOSE'LY. One event follows closely upon another (very near).—We must attend closely to business (intently).—The parties are closely connected by marriage (intimately). CERTAIN LY. Certainly this was a good man (in truth).—I will certainly return (without failure).

DEEPLY. He was deeply skilled in philosophy (thoroughly).—He sighed deeply (with great sorrow).

DES PER ATE LY. They fought desperately (furiously; madly).—He was desperately in love (deeply; violently).

EA'SI LY. He easily performed the task (without difficulty).—The carriage moves easily (without jolting).

EV'ER. Have you ever been to the city? (at any time).-He is ever mindful of his duty (always).

FAIRLY. The question was fairly stated (frankly; honestly). The record was fairly written (plainly).-He fought till he was fairly defeated (completely).

FINE'LY. It is finely pulverized (minutely).-She was finely dressed (beautifully).-The town is finely situated (favorably).

FREE'LY. We go and come freely (without restraint).-He comes freely (without reserve). The patient bled freely (copiously).-We give freely to the poor (liberally). GAY LY. He sings gayly (merrily).—The lady is gayly dressed (finely; splendidly). JUST'LY. He is justly condemned to death (rightfully).-His character is justly described (truthfully).

IN'TI MATE LY. The two fluids are intimately mixed (closely).—I am intimately acquainted with him (familiarly).

PLAIN'LY. He is plainly dressed (without ornament).-Deal plainly with me (honestly; frankly). This doctrine is plainly taught (clearly).

PŎS'I TIVE LY. Virtue is always positively good (really; in its own nature).-Is this positively your hand-writing? (certainly; without any doubt).-The witness testified positively to the fact (explicitly; expressly).

RICH'LY. The hospital is richly endowed (amply).-The punishment was richly deserved (truly; justly).-The lady was richly dressed (gayly; splendidly). SOFT'LY. He softly pressed my hand (gently).-Speak softly (not loudly).

SOON. I will return soon (in a short time).—I would as soon go, as stay (readily; willingly).

WELL. He rides well (skillfully).-The country is well watered (abundantly).—I like it well (very much).-Every one speaks well of him (favorably).-Let the room be well ven

LETTERS, WORDS, AND SENTENCES.

The English alphabet consists of twenty-six letters, which are divided into vowels and consonants.

A Vowel is a letter which can be fully and easily sounded by itself.

A Consonant is a letter which can not be fully and easily sounded by itself without the aid of a vowel.

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y. The remaining nineteen letters are consonants.

A Diphthong is the union of two vowels in one syllable, as the oi in oil. A Triphthong is the union of three vowels in one syllable, as the ieu in lieu.

A Primitive word is one not derived from another; as, hope, grace.

A Derivative word is one formed from a primitive by the addition of some suffix cr prefix; as, hope'ful, dis grace'.

A Sentence is an assemblage of words that make complete sense.

PAUSES, AND OTHER MARKS, USED IN WRITING AND PRINTING.
For examples, let pupils refer to their Reading Books.

The Comma (,) commonly represents the shortest pause in reading; the Semicolon (; a pause longer than that of the comma; the Colon (:) a pause longer than that of the semicolon; and the Period (.) a full pause, or end of an independent sentence.

The Interrogation point (?) shows that a question is asked.

The Exclamation point (!) indicates sudden passion or emotion.

The Parenthesis ( ) includes an explanatory mark, or phrase, inserted between the parts of a sentence, as in the examples here given.

The Brackets ([ ]) include an explanatory observation standing by itself, or separating two subjects.

Marks of Quotation ("") include the words quoted from an author or speaker. A quotation within a quotation is preceded by a single inverted comma, and closed by a single apostrophe.

The Apostrophe (') denotes the possessive case, and also marks the omission of a letter or letters; as, John's book; o'er, don't, for over, do not.

The Dash (-) denotes a sudden pause or change in the subject or sentiment. The Ellipsis sentences.

·) or (****) indicates the designed omission of letters, words, or

The Hyphen (-) connects the parts of compound words, or divides words into syllables. The Caret (^), used only in manuscript, denotes the accidental omission of a letter, word, or words.

The Brace () connects a number of words with one common term, which may be either expressed or understood.

The Section (§) is sometimes used to divide a book or chapter into parts.

The Paragraph (T) denotes the beginning of a new subject.

The Index () points to some important passage.

The Asterisk (*), and other references, refer to notes in the margin, or at the bottom of the page.

A Diaeresis (") placed over the latter of two vowels shows that they belong to two distinct syllables; thus, aërial.

THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

The first word of every book, tract, chapter, or letter; the first word after a period; all names of the Deity; names of titles of honor and respect; all proper names, and most nouns and adjectives derived from them; the first word of every line in poetry; and sometimes words of primary importance, should begin with a capital letter. The pronoun I and the interjection O are written or printed in capitals. Title-pages of books, and

RULES FOR SPELLING.

RULE I. Words of one syllable, and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, DOUBLE the final consonant when they take an addition (or suffix) beginning with a vowel; as, rob, rob'bing, robbed, rob'ber y; rub, rub'bing, rubbed; blur, blur'ring, blurred; ac quit', ac quit'ting, ac quit'ted.

Exceptions. If the accent is changed from the last to the preceding syllable of the primitive, the final consonant is not doubled; as, re fer', ref'er ence; pre fer', pref'er a ble. From gas are formed gas'es, gas'i form, gas'e ous, gas'i fy, gas'sy. X, which is included among the double consonants, is not doubled, as wax, wax'en; tax, tax'ing; per plex', per plex'ing.

Note.-In other cases not embraced in the Rule, the final consonant is not doubled; as, fail, fail'ing, failed: ri'val, ri'val ing; quar'rel, quarʼrel ing, quar'reled. But Worcester and some others, in opposition to Lowth, Walker, Perry, and Webster, double the final consonant in a few words which are accented on the first syllable, as in trav'el, trav'el ler; jew'el, jew'el ler; wor'ship, wor'ship ping, wor'shipped.

RULE II. Words ending in silent e generally drop the e when they take a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, name, nām'ing, named; have, hav'ing; sale, sal'a ble; cure, cur'a ble; re move', re mov'a ble.

Exceptions. For the sake of euphony, when c or g would precede a or o, the e is retained, as in charge, charge'able; peace, peace'a ble; change, change'a ble; courage, cour a'geous. The e is dropped in judg'ment, du'ly, tru'ly, aw'ful, etc., as the suffix does not begin with a vowel. The e is retained in (dye) dye'ing, (hoe) hoe'ing, (shoe) shoe'ing, (singe) singe'ing, (tinge) tinge'ing, to distinguish them from (die) dy'ing, (sing) sing'ing, etc.

RULE III. Words ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change the y to i or e before a suffix beginning with any letter but s or i; as, love'ly, love'li er, love'li est; glo'ry, glo'ri ous; glo'ri fy, glo'ri fied; fly, flies (verb); mer'ry, mer'ri er; beau'ty, beau'te ous. If the y is not preceded by a consonant, it is not generally changed, as, joy, joy'ous, joy'ful; although day forms dai'ly.

Exceptions.-Monosyllables retain the y when the suffix begins with a consonant; as, dry, dry/ly, dry'ness; shy, shy'ly, shy'ness; sly, sly'ly, sly'ness.

RULE IV. The plural of nouns is generally formed by adding s or es to the singular; but nouns ending in y, preceded by a consonant, form their plural by changing y into ics; as, ar'my, ar'mies; al ly', al lies'; ba'by, ba'bies; cit'y, cit'ies; fly, flies; sky, skies; canopies, comedies, lilies, pennies, etc. But nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel, form the plural regularly, as, boy, boys; mon'ey, mon'eys; val'ley, val'leys; jour'ney, jour'

neys.

Notes.-Words ending in a double consonant generally retain both consonants on receiving a suffix; but some words ending in ll drop one before less and ly; as, skill, skil'less; full, ful'ly; chill, chil'ly; squall, squal'ly. Webster, in opposition to Walker and Worcester, retains the I before ness and ful, in derivatives of dull, will, skill, and full; as, dull'ness, will'ful, skill'ful, full'ness. Webster spells dis till', ful fill', in still'; Worcester, dis til', ful fil', in stil'.

Compound words usually retain the forms of their primitives; but an e is dropped in wherever; and words ending in ll drop one l in composition, as in al'so, al'most, un til', welfare, with al'.