mistake, and, at the same time, to know, for a certainty, that we do correct it, and that we are able to avoid the like in fu ture, the only sure way is, to ascertain the cause of such errour, evil, miscalculation, or mistake.

The foregoing directions under Rule 1, are mainly designed for the use of the inexperienced and grossly defective in articulation; but the following instructions may be found useful, not only to readers and speakers in general, but even to many who hold a very conspicuous rank as publick speakers.

Rule 1, inculcates the importance of pronouncing distinctly, not merely every word (considered as a whole) which a reader or a speaker utters, but every letter that enters into the orthog raphy of each word, silent letters only excepted.

RULE II.

The sounds of the unaccented vowels, should not be perverted nor improperly suppressed, but fully and correctly exploded.

Examples; the u in popular, secular, singular, regular, particular, triangular, ridiculous, conspicuous, strenuous, &c.; the o in opaque, opinion, opacity, oracular, omega; the e in esquire, escape, esteem, estate, establish, espy, espouse, especial, estrange, eruction, equipment, elopement, enough, enormous, evade, evert, and the like; which are often improperly pronounced es-quire, es-cape, es-teem, &c. We frequently hear gardn, suddn, kitchn, hyphn, chickn, sulln, slovn, mountn, fountn, curtn, uncertn, Latn, satn, rebl, chapl, gospl, instead of gardin, suddin, kitchin, hyphen, chickin, sullin, sloven, mountin, fountin, curtin, uncertin, Latin, satin, rebel, chapel, gospel. This is extremely vulgar. But, in the words often, stolen, fallen, hidden, bidden, chidden, even, open, heaven, leaven, seven, eleven, and many others, the unaccented vowel e should not be sounded.

A far more fruitful source of errour, however, in which the sound of the unaccented vowel e is either suppressed or perverted, is observable in the ordinary pronunciation of the terminations ent, ment, nent, dent, lent, cient, tient, and the like; as in different, monument, compliment, government, continent, ardent, excellent, transient, patient. Instead of giving e its distinct, appropriate sound, as an accomplished speaker should do, and as the rules ef orthoepy imperiously demand, doubtless ninety-nine hundredths of those who speak our language, totally pervert its sound in terminations like these; often pronouncing it like short u: thus, differunt, monumunt, complimunt, govern.

munt, continunt, ardunt, excellunt, transhunt, pashunt. Although no stress is allowable on these terminations when un-accented, yet that is no good reason for perverting the sound of e, which should be pronounced here, as distinctly as in those terminations that come under the accent; as in prevent, indent, unbent, circumvent, and the like.

In a large class of words beginning with pre, the unaccented e is apt to be suppressed. Precede, precise, predict, pretend, predominate, prejudicate, and the like, are often articulated as if written, pr-cede, pr-cise, pr-dict, pr-tend, pr-dominate, pr-judicate. Orthoepy cannot look with complacency even upon this errour. The unaccented o, in words commencing with pro, is also a fellow sufferer with its harmless associate e, by its often falling a victim to the same kind of unnatural treatment. Propose, pronounce, produce, prorogue, promote, and so forth, are frequently enunciated in such a manner as entirely to suppress the o: thus, pr-pose, pr-nounce, pr-mote, and so on.

Some men, indeed, have no more mercy on innocent letters than if they were invented merely to be tortured.

Poor e is also robbed of her just prerogative in the terminations dence, ence, nence, lense, and so forth. Why should the natural and rational sound dence, be exchanged for [a] dunce? Yet we often hear residence, evidence, influence, impertinence, continence, silence, and the like, pronounced nearly as if written, residunce, evidence, influence, impertinunce, continunce, silunce.

But one of the grossest abuses of a vowel sound, occurs in changing long u, in the unaccented syllable of such words as the following, into a short. Natshure, featshure, creatshure, lectshure, structshure, and so forth, are commonly pronounced natshur, featshur, creatshur, lectshur, structshur; and by this barbarous perversion, articulation is plundered of one of its most delicate graces. There is not a more beautiful and voluptuous sound in our language, than that given forth by u, in such terminations, when pronounced as it should be. But words which are musick, and which drop like honey from the comb, as they issue from the lips of some men, fall, like the unwelcome tones of untimely guests, grating on the ear, as they make their exodus from the mouths of others.

In the words theorem, theorist, melody, plethora, and many others, the sound of o is apt to be perverted, and changed to that of short u.

A similar perversion of the sound of a, in the terminations ant and man, is not uncommon. The words dormant, infant,

inhabitant, adjutant, reluctant, gentleman, and so forth, are fre quently pronounced as if written dormunt, infunt, inhabitunt, gentlemun, &c. The long a in the last syllable of landscape, is often improperly articulated like short i: thus, landskip.

In the presence of orthoepy, the words plausible, visible, possible, vivify, justify, stultify, and many other unlucky wights belonging to the same clan, appear with an i knocked out; but this excites not the least commiseration, for it is evident, that i has attained this situation only by usurping the legitimate throne of e: and that, although i may boldly assert his claims to it in the presence of orthography, yet he is ever ready to abdicate it when brought within the scrutinizing glance of orthoepy.

RULE III.

The sounds of the consonants, especially when two or three are combined, are often improperly slurred or suppressed.

The sounds of the atonicks, t and final s, for example, in such words as coasts, boasts, hosts, merit particular attention, as they are often improperly omitted.

The clump of subtonick and atonick elements at the termina tion of such words as the following, is frequently, to the no small injury of articulation, particularly slighted; couldst wouldst, hadst, prob'st, prob'dst, hurl'st, hurl' dst, arm'st arm'dst, want'st, want' dst, turn'st, turn'dst, bark'st, bark'dst. bubbl'st, bubbl'dst, troubl'st, troubl'dst.

Consonant sounds are, also, apt to be suppressed, where a word begins with the same sound that closed the word next pre ceding it; as, "For Christ's sake;" "For mercy's sake."

QUESTIONS.

What is the proper method to be pursued in order to correct a bad pronunciation ?

Explain the errour in consequence of which some say dinks, tinks, drift, trift, pos-ce, fores-ce, strenth, &c. instead of thinks, thrift, pos-ts, fores-ts, strength, &c.

Can you explain, by experiment, the elementary difference between th in thin, and th in THIS?-Repeat Rule 2.

Give examples both of the false and of the correct pronunciation of u in popular, secular, &c. of o in opacity, omega, &c. of e in esquire, esteem,-e in sullen, gospel, fallen, seven, and the like.

Give examples both of the correct and of the incorrect pronunciation of e in ment, nent, dent, and the like.

Is any stress allowable on such terminating syllables?

Are the sounds of e in pre, o in pro, and e in dence, lence, nence, &c. ever perverted?-Give examples.

What is to be observed of long u in nature, feature, &c.?

Are the sounds of o in theorem, &c. and of a in the terminations ant, man, &c. ever perverted?-Give examples.

Repeat Rule 3.-What is said of the consonants ts, st, dst, and so forth, at the termination of words?

EXERCISES.

And oft false sighs sicken the silly heart.

The man of talents struggles through difficulties severe, and hates stupidity.

And where the finest streams through tangled forests stray, E'en there the wildest beasts steal forth upon their prey. Remark. The h is not always distinctly aspirated when employed in an alliteration:

Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone."

If these civil and useful gentry of the alphabet, are not so melodious in their notes as their more fortunate brethren the liquids, and their musical sisters the vowels, they ought not, therefore, to be treated with neglect.

Examples in which an imperfect explosion of atonick elements, is capable of perverting the meaning.

The severest storm that lasts till morn:
The severest storm that last still morn.
He is content in either place:

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They weary wandered over wastes and deserts:
They weary wandered over waste sand deserts.
She looked upon the prince without emotion:
She looked upon the prints without emotion.

Every publick speaker ought to prove such a statement:
Every publick speaker ought to approve such a statement.
Whoever heard of such an ocean?

EXERCISES.

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Singular as it may appear, many persons are more particular in regard to the adornments of the body, than to the accomplishments of the mind.

In overcoming the obstacles of nature in order to the attainment of excellence in oratory, we sometimes witness, with pleasure, the wonderful effects of industry and perseverance.

The Lord has betrothed his church in eternal covenant to himself. His quickening spirit shall never depart from her. Armed with divine virtue, his gospel, secret, silent, unobserved, enters the hearts of men, and sets up an everlasting kingdom.

It eludes all the vigilance, and baffles all the power, of the adversary. Bars, and bolts, and dungeon, are no obstacles to its approach: bonds, and tortures, and death, cannot extinguish its influence. Let no man despair, then, of the christian cause. When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line, too, labours, and the words move slow. That morning, thou, that slumber'dst not before, Nor sleptst, great Ocean, laidst thy waves at rest, And hush'dst thy mighty minstrelsey.

Remarks. The learner should be required to read the foregoing exercises over and over again, again and again, until he can articulate, with ease and accuracy, every vowel and every consonant sound in each sentence. Those letters distinguished by Italick characters, demand his particular attention: for an attentive observer may easily be convinced, that few readers can be found, who would not, in pronouncing these ten sentences, be guilty of more than thirty inaccuracies.

The vowel o in the words of, for, from, and the like, is frequently perverted to that of short u; and thus, one of the most melodious and grateful sounds in the language, is lost.

One of the prominent points of articulation illustrated in these exercises, is the frequent recurrence of a difficult sound at the close of one, and at the commencement of another, word: such as, "effects of, such an ocean, ought to approve, wastes and deserts, Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw;" in which instances, it will be found utterly impossible to give every element its distinct sound without making a short pause between the words. In the phrase, "weight to throw," for example, the atonick t in weight, cannot be fully exploded unless a pause is made after it. To this point, then, let the pupil particularly direct his attention: for the suppression and blending of sounds, as several of these examples clearly show, often lead to a total perversion of the sense.

RULE IV.

The practice of hurrying over words so as to precipitate syllable upon syllable, and, as it were, blend them together into indistinct and confused masses, is by no means allowable.

The least critical listener is always dissatisfied with an indistinct speaker or reader, though, perhaps, utterly unable to point out his particular faults; whilst the judicious observer has to complain, that letters, syllables, words, and sometimes even large portions of sentences, are either wholly suppressed by