And next, practice, over and over again, till they can be repeated with unerring correctness, such phrases as the fol`lowing: The eagle eye of intellect. The happy home of husbands. Uphold an honoured name. Behold a high hill. Unhoused, unhappy, and unhonoured, &c. &c. NOTE. In adjectives commencing with h, where the accent is on the second syllable, it is allowable, for euphony, to drop the aspirate; as we may say an historical fact, an habitual, &c., though we must say a history, a habit. EXERCISE ON THE SUB-TONICS AND ATONICS. 1. Black bubbling brooks break brawling o'er their bounds The painted pomp of pleasure's proud parade. 2. Decide the dispute during dinner-time, by dividing the difference. Tourists thronged, from time to time, to traverse the Thames tunnel. 3. Gregory, going gaily, galloped gallantly to the gate. Crazed with corroding cares, and killed with consuming complaints. 4. Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. Frank Feron flattered his friends, but failed not to find fault with his foes. 5. His zeal was blazoned from zone to zone. Serpents and snakes were scattered on the sea. 6. Judge and jury adjourned the judgment. Chosen champion of the church, he cherished her children. 7. The azure sea is shining with ships, that shape their course for home. 8. This thread is thinner than that thistle there. 9. Year after year the o'er-ripe ear is lost. Ye heard him hurry yelling o'er your head. Up a high hill he heaved a huge, hard stone. 10. We wildly wish, while wiser workmen win whate'er will worth reward. 11. And rugged rocks re-echo with his roar. 12. Lamely the lion limped along the lawn. 13. Many men of many minds, mixing in multifarious matters of much moment. 14. None know, nor need to know his name. 15. England's king lay waking and thinking, while his subjects were sleeping. VALUE OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. All deficiencies of articulation not proceeding from organic defect are merely an imperfect or difficult utterance of the elementary sounds-tonics, sub-tonics, and atonics—of which our language is composed; for it is manifest, that if the parts be perfect, the whole must be perfect also: and therefore, if our articulation of the elemental sounds be just, our articulation of all the syllables and words which their combination forms must also be just. What is lisping, or stammering? An imperfect or faulty utterance of certain elemental sounds. Show the person who lisps or stammers (always excepting the case of organic defect) the organic process of articulation of the particular sound in which his utterance is imperfect, and make him practice that process of articulation, and there is no doubt of the result; his defect, if not organic, will be removed, and he will speak clearly and distinctly. Slovenly articulation is mis-spelling to the ear; and is as great a blemish to speech as false spelling is to a written letter: one fault should be as carefully guarded against as the other in early education. This can only be done by justly distinguishing between the sign and the sound, and by practising the pupil on all the elementary sounds of which the language is composed, until she is perfectly master of them in all their combinations. The necessity of a distinct articulation will be made apparent at once by reading the following EXAMPLES. 1. A serious man was never before guilty of such a series of follies; in which every species of absurdity was accompanied by a specious gravity, which rendered it infinitely amusing. In this passage, unless the syllables ies and ious be correctly distinguished by the reader, in the words serious and series, species and specious, it must be quite evident that confusion and uncertainty will result to the hearer. 2. The duke paid the money due to the Jew before the dew was off the ground; and the Jew, having duly acknowledged it, said adieu to the duke for ever. This example may help to correct a carelessness very common-that of confounding the consonants d and j when followed by the sound of u, a process which changes adieu into a jew, duke into juke, &c. "That's villanous; reform it altogether." A ludicrous instance of this kind of carelessness occurred to me in a town in one of the northern counties of England. I was looking at some apartments which were shown to me by the landlady of the house. They did not exactly suit me, and I said so. She, with all the hauteur of a disappointed and irritated proprietress, replied, "Well, sir, then you can shoot yourself elsewhere." I took my leave, assuring her that I had no such suicidal intention. How commonly do we hear, in ordinary conversation, A p'tic'lur man, instead of a par-tic-u-lar man. A fatle error, for fa-tal error. A purson of emenunce, for per-son of em-i-nence. Pe'fection instead of per-fection. Dook for Duke. Dooty for Duty. To correct these, and similar errors of articulation, arising from a careless utterance of the elementary sounds, the tables of articulation in the 'PRACTICE," are prepared for the reader. Their object is, by frequent practice, to give a habit of clear articulation of certain sounds, syllables, and combinations, on which a slovenly articulation is common. In reading the tables, be particular first to get the correct tonic sound of the vowel, as given in the key-word, and bear in mind that articulation of a sound does not imply accentuation of the syllable; that is part of PRONUNCIATION. Pronunciation distinguishes the educated reader and speaker from the vulgar and unpolished one. Pronunciation is made up of articulation and accentuation; when both are perfect, the individual has a correct and elegant pronunciation. Custom, as Horace has truly said, -custom is the arbiter and criterion of what is correct in speech; but then it is the custom of the polite and |