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I

EVERY-DAY

ERRORS OF SPEECH

BY

L. P. MEREDITH, M.D., D.D.S.,

AUTHOH OF "the TEETH, AND HOW TO SAVE THEM."

PHILADELPHIA:

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

18 72.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year, 1872, by L. P. MEREDITH,

Jn the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

IIS^TRODUCTIOI^.

Damns. * * * The Prince of Como does not understand his own language.

Melnotte. Not as you pronounce it : Who the deuce could?

It may be regarded as one of the commendable peculiarities of the English language that, despite provincialisms, vulgarisms, neglected education, for- eign accent, and the various corrupting influences to which it is subjected, it may be understood wher- ever it is heard, whatever differences of distance or associations may have existed between the speaker and the listener, both claiming familiarity with it. Considering these influences and the arbitrariness of the orthoepical rules of the language, there has been expressed' surprise that frequent degenerations into uncouth dialects or patois have not occurred. A decent regard for the common weal should cause gratification that such degenerations have not taken place, for were it not for the ability of our tongue to preserve its individuality against the tendency toward corruption, we might reasonably fear such a Babel-like confusion, that, when asked, " Do you

iv INTRODUCTION.

speak English?" one might appropriately, scztjs the profanity, reply in the language of the text, ''Not as you pronounce it: Who the deuce could?" While the majority of people place no other value upon language than that of convenience, and are indiffer- ent to any corruption, so long as they can simply understand and be understood, there is happily a better class, the aesthetic cultivation of which is such that those who belong to it are anxious to preserve the purity of our vernacular and are ashamed of all errors of speech in their daily conversations. For such it will not be uninteresting to look over a num- ber of errors, principally of pronunciation, that are not formally laid down as such in books, and which people, even many of the best educated, are con- stantly committing, just because they have never had their attention called to them. These errors are be- coming more deeply rooted every day, and if not soon eradicated, it will not be many years before our orthoepic standard will be overthrown as it was in England some years ago.

Smart, one of the most celebrated of English or- thoepists, in the preface of his dictionary says: " The proprietors of Walker's dictionary, finding it would slide entirely out of use unless it were adapted to the present day, engaged me as a teacher of elocu- tion, known in London since Walker's time, to make the necessary changes." A standard pronouncing dictionary is a work that involves an extraordinary

INTRODUCTION. V

amount of labor and research in its compilation, and exerts an influence almost autocratical. The possibility of its becoming worthless in a short time is strange, especially when it is not on account of any work claiming superiority, but merely because error long persisted in finally becomes more author- itative than the original exemplar. With little effort, however, we can discern the causes. Persons are apt to acquire the pronunciation and use of the greater number of words by imitation, rather than by study. With confidence in the knowledge of the parent, teacher, minister, physician and others, their exam- ples are followed without ever considering that they are often very fallible guides.

A complete dictionary is an immense volume, and to turn over its pages with even a casual observation of each word, requires an amount of time that few would feel like devoting to it ; and yet this is the only way in which a person can become assured of the sanctioned pronunciation and meaning of a great many words. If they would make it an invariable rule to make memoranda of all the words they read or hear spoken, about the orthoepy and import of which they are not absolutely certain, and at their first leisure opportunity would consult their chosen authority, it would not be long before the majority of errors would be corrected; but this requires mem- ory, inclination, time, continuity of purpose, posses- sion of dictionaries or access to them — circumstances

1 INTRODUCTION.

that are seldom found combined. It will doubtless be useless to rehearse any of the arguments com- monly employed to prove the necessity of having some sovereign standard, to the guidance of which we must be willing to submit. Those for whom this work is intended will be willing to admit that. Nor is it necessary to assert that as far as the English speakers of the United States are interested, the only works that lay claim to such a position are the dic- tionaries of Webster and Worcester. If the rig-ht of the opinions of the majority of scholars through- out the land were alone considered, the former would certainly be entitled to the preference; but the work of the latter is too full of merit and has too many adherents in the ranks of the educated to permit any one to say that it is not worthy of high esteem. With my own preference for the former and with my willingness to acknowledge the worth of the lat- ter, I have consulted both authorities concerning every word in the following vocabulary — that is, every word requiring reference to either. It will be seen that there is much less diflFerence between the decisions of the two dictionaries than is commonly supposed. By this reference to each, I have not only corrected errors in an impartial manner, but have also stopped up that loop-hole through which so many try to escape by saying, when they are called to account according to one dictionary, that they do not accept that as their standard. As far as the people of this

INTRODUCTION. Vll

country are concerned, there is no escape from the conclusion that a person is considered a correct or an incorrect speaker of English, according to whether or not he conforms his discourse to one of the above mentioned authorities. At first glance it will appear that the size of this volume is not at all commensu- rate to the task of correcting the many errors that are heard in our communication with all classes that pretend to speak the English language. It is not intended to instruct those whose education has been so neglected that they are guilty of the grossest vio- lation of syntax and orthoepy, nor to cultivate the taste of those whose selection of words and cant and slang phrases betrays the low grade of the associa- tions by which they have been surrounded. It is desio-ned rather as a collection of the more common of those errors, chiefly orthoepical, that I have be- fore spoken of as being of constant occurrence even among people of education, unless they have paid considerable attention to philology or belles-lettres. If by presenting them in this convenient form, thus saving much time and trouble in referring to the dictionary, I have merited the thanks of my readers, or if I have contributed even a mite toward the con- servation of the present usage, I shall feel amply repaid.

I have taken advantage of the alphabetical arrange- ment to intioduce a few miscellaneous errors that might have been placed under a separate heading.

VIU INTRODUCTION.

Instead of dividing the words into syllables and loading them with marks as is usually done in dic- tionaries, I have thought that it would make a deep- er impression on the memory to present the words as they are conamonly seen in print, depending on respelling to furnish the correct and incorrect accent and pronunciation.

The corrections have first been made according to Webster; if Worcester is unmentioned, it is to be understood that both authorities agree,

Cincinnati J December 20 1871.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE RESPELLING

The long sounds of a, e, i, o, u, are represented by a, e, T, 5, u.

The sliort sounds of a, e, i, o, u, ' " a, 6, i, 6, tl.

a, as in air, pair, is represented by a.

a, " far, arm, '* " a or ah.

a, " all, haul, " " aw.

a, " what, squat, " " 6.

e, " ere, ivhere, " '* e.

e, " obey, weight, " "a.

e, " her, term, "■ " e.

i, " machine, " " e or ee.

i, " dirk, whirl, " " i.

0, " done, son, " " ti.

0, " woman, " " 56.

0, " do, move, " " do.

a, " for, storm, " " 6 or aw.

00, " soon, moon, " '* oo.

00, " foot, good, *' " 65.

u, " rude, ride, " " oo.

'u, " push,pidl, " " 65.

w, " 6wm, <urft, " " li.

oi, I

oy,'i

ou,) ow,)

an, toy, oi.

found, owl, " " ow.

c, as in city, cite, is represented by a or 9. c, " ca?i, cut, ' " eh, " c/u7d, much, " c^., " machine, "

c^, " chorus, "

w, " think, uncle, " 9M, " require, "

s, " th&^e, ease, "

Obscure vowel sounds, or tliose which are glided over in a word without any noticeable accent, are unmarked. In those cases where the pronunciation is so evident that mis- takes seem improbable, the marks are also omitted.

(10)

	k.
	ch.
	sh
	k.
	n.
	kw.
	z.

EVERY-DAY ERRORS

OF

s x= E E o h:

Abacus — aVa-kus, not a- bak^Cis.

Abdomen — ab-do^men, not ai/do-men.

Acclimate — ak-kli^mate, not ak^kli-mate.

Acclimated is also accented on the second syllable.

Acclimatization — ak-kli- mat-i-za^shun, not ak-kll^- ma-ti-za-shun.

Adult— a-dult^, not ad^ult.

Aerated — a^er-a-ted, not a^- re-a-ted. ^^Areated bread^^ is a mistake that is fre- quently made.

Ailantus — a-lan^tGs, not a- liln^thus ; at-lin^tus is a still worse error.

Albumen — al-bu''men, not aKbu-men,

Alder -awKder, not al'der; it is the name of a tree and does not mean the ordin- ary elder.

Alike. It is sufficient to say

that two persons or things are alike, not both alike. The word associated with alike is just as unnecessary as it is with resemble and equal in the following sen- tences : " These two men both resemble each other." " These two sums are both equal."

Allopathy— al-15p^a-thy, not aKlo-path-y.

Allopathist is similarly ac- cented.

Alpaca — al-pak^a, not al-la- pak^a.

Altercate — aKter-kate, not awKter-kate.

Amenable — a-me^na-ble, not a-m6n'a-ble.

Among. A thing is divided among many and beivjeen two.

Amour — a-moor^, not ara''- more nor a^moor.

Angry. Say angry with a per- son and at a thing.

Animalcula is the plural of

(11)

12

UHIiO^S OF STESCM.

animalculiim ; there is no such word as animalculce. Animalcule (singular) and animalcules (plural), are propel- words ; the former is pronounced an-i-maK- kule and the latter an-i- raaKkulz.

Antarctic — ant-ark''tik, not ant-ilr^tik.

Antepenult — an-te-pe-niilt'', not an-te-pe^nult.

Apex — fi^pex, not Sp^ex.

Apparatus — ap-pa-ra^tus,not ap-pa-ntt^us.

Aquaria, not aquariums, is the plural of aquarium.

Arabic — ;lr^a-bik, not a-nlb^- ik, a-ra^bik, nor Tir^a-bak ; which errors are very com- mon, especially in the com- pound word gum-arabic.

Arbitrary is often incorrectly pronounced as if spelled ar-bi-ta-ry.

Archangel — ark-an^jel, not arch-an^jel.

Archbishop — arch-bish^op, not ark-bish^op.

Archipelago — ark-i-peKa- go, not arch-i-peKa-go.

Architect — ar^ki-tect, not ar^chi-tect.

Archives — ar^kivez, not ar^- chivez, nor ar^kevez.

Arctic — ark^tik, not ar^tik.

Arid — ar^id, not a^rid.

Aroma — a-r6''ma, not iir^o- ma.

At should not be used when it has no j>ossible connec- tion with the other words

of a sentence ; as, " "Where are you living at ? "

At ail, not a tall.

Attacked, not attackte 1.

Auction— awk^shun, not (^k^- shun.

Ay or Aye, meaning i/e«, and aye, an affirmative vote, are pronounced ai and not i nor a.

Aye, meaning forever, al- ways (used chiefly in poet- ry), is pronounced a not i nor iil.

Bade— bad, not bade.

Badinage — brid^in-iizh, not bad^in-aje. Worcester gives the same pronunciation, but places the accent on the last syllable.

Balance. There are two common errors connected with this word. One is to write it ballance : the other is to use it in the sense of remainder, rest, etc. ; as, the balance of the day, the bal- ance of the people. Bal- ance means properly " the excess on one side, or what added to the other makes equality." The corrupt use of the word, as above men- tioned, is laid down as a vulgarism.

Bantam, not banty.

Bellows — beKltis, not bCKloz. The plural is the same as the singular.

EHIRO^S OF STFECir.

13

Besom — be''zum, not be^'sum. K broom.

Betroth — be-tr6th, not be- troth. Betrothed, Be- trothal, etc., are similar- ly pronounced.

Blacking, not blackening for boots and shoes.

Blouse — blowz, not blowss.

Bologna — b5-16n^ya, not bo- logna. Bologna sausage, Bologna phial, etc.

Bona fide — bo^na-fide, not bo^na-fide nor b6n^a-fide.

Booth. The th is sounded as in the preposition withy not as in both.

Bouquet - boo-ka^ or boo^ka, not bo-ka''.

Bourgeois, meaning a kind of type, is pronounced biir- jois^, not like the follow- ing word :

Bourgeois, a citizen, pro- nounced boor-zhwaw^.

Brand-new, not bran-new. Although the latter adject- ive is much used, it is evi- dently a corruption of the former. An article in its newness may be bright like a brand of fire, or the brand of the manufacturer may remain intact, but there is certainly no bran about it.

Breeches— britch^ez, not as spelled.

Bretzel, not pretzel. A brit- tle German cake.

Brilliant. A diamond of the finest cut, witii its faces and facets so arranged as to se-

cure the greatest degree of brilliancy — whence the name. The name to many conveys the idea of paste, or imitation. A rose dia- mond may be just as pure, but its depth does not per- mit it to be made ^brilliant of without a much greater loss of substance.

Brougham -broom or broo^- am, not bro^am nor brow^- am. A kiiid of carriage.

Burst, Bursted and Burst- ing, not busty busted and basting.

o.

Calculate is often inappro- priately used in lieu of be- lieve, suppose, expect, etc., as in the following sentences : " I calculate you are my friend ; " "I calculate the report is true." Still worse than this passive misuse is that active one of using the word in some such, sense as this : " Doctor, I know that you are a man of great intelligence and I have unlimited confidence in your honor and ability ; but I must say that I think the course of treatment pursued by you during this epidemic, is calculated to in- crease the mortality among your patients." tlow in- consistent with the enco- mium is the dreadful ac-

14

£filiO^S OF S^'EJSCIT,

cusation just following ! As if the Doctor had sat down and calculated how he could cause injury rath- er than benefit. Calculate means to ascertain by means of figures or to study what means must be used to secure a certain result. A person may make a speech, write a book, or do anything else calculated to do good, or more rarely, evil, but the intention to accomplish the object spoken of must be present, before the word can l>e properly used.

Calliope — kal-li^o-pe, not kaKli-ope.

Calvary, not cavalry, when tiie place of our Saviour's crucifixion is meant.

Camelopard — kameKo-piird or kam^ei-o-piird, not kam- el-leop^ard.

Cantatrice — kan-ta-tre^che, not kiln^ta-treess.

Canon — kai/yun, not kan^- nun. A deep gorge or ra- vine. Spelled also Canyon, pronounced kiin-yon^ or kan^yon.

Capoch — ka-pootsl/, not ka- poch^. Capouch is anoth- er orthography.

Caption in the sense of the heading of a discourse, chapter, page, etc., is not sanctioned by good writers.

Carminative — kiir-mln^a- tive, not kilr^mi-na-tive.

Casualty — kazl/u-al-ty, not kax-u-uKi-ty.

Cater-cornered — ka^tcr- cor-nered, not kat^ty-cor- nered. Not down, thus compounded in Webster, but his pronunciation of the separate words is as given. Worcester gives the word as above and de- fines it as an adjective — diagonal. It is generally used though, I believe, as an adverb ; as, " the piano stands cater-cornered" (di- agonally). It is regarded as an inelegant word, diago- nal and diagonally being preferred : though it is probable that this opinion has been caused by th« abominable pronunciations catty and kitty cornered.

Catalpa — ka-taKpa, not ka- tawKpa.

Catch, Catching — kiltch and katcliing, not kgtch and ketching.

Catholic means liberal, gen- eral, not bigoted, and not Roman Catholic, unless specially so applied.

Caucasian — kaw-ka'sian,not kaw-kazh^ian, kaw-kash^- ian, kaw-kaz^ian nor kaw- kass^ian.

Cayenne — ka-en'', not kl-on^.

Chaps — chftps, not chilps. The jaws. Chops is also correct orthography.

Chasten — chasten, not chJts^- en. Chastened, chasten-

E^nons OF sti:bcb:

15

ing, etc., have also the long a.

Chew, not chaw. The latter word either as a verb or noun is now considered quite vulgar.

Chid, not chiMcd, is the ini- perl'eet tense of chide.

Chimera — ki-me^ra, not chi- me^ra, nor ki-iue'ra.

Chivalric — shiv^al-rik, not shiv-aKrik. Worcester al- lows the latter.

Chivalrous — shiv^al-riis, not shiv-aKrus. Worcester

gives chiv^al-rus also.

Chivalry — shiv^al-ry, not chiv^al-ry. Worcester

sanctions both.

Cicerone — che-che-ro^ne or sis-e-r6''ne, not sis^e-rone. A guide.

Citrate — sit^rate, not si^trate. " Citrate of magnesia."

Climbed, not clomb (klum). One climbs wp but does not climb down.

Cochineal — k6cl/i-neel, not k5^chi-ncel nor ko^ki-neel.

Cocoa (k6^k(3) is not made from the cocoa-nut or tree, but from the seeds of the cacao (ka-ka^o) or choco- late tree. The word is evi- dently a perversion, but it has gained a permanent footing in its present sig- nification.

Cognomen — kog-no^men, not k6g^no-men.

Cold-chisel, not coal-chlsd. It is a chisel of peculiar

strength and hardness for cutting cold metal.

Cole-slaw. In the former editions of some dictiona- ries it has been taught that this word is derived from cole meaning cabbage, and slaw meaning salad. Cole-slaw — cabbage-salad. The un instructed soon changed the cole into cold and substituted hot for the other extreme of tempera- ture, thus entirely chang- ing the signification. What was really meant, was hot cole-slaiv and cold cole-slaw. Many persons still regard cole-slaw as the proper word, and receipt books give that orthography. The last editions of Webster and Worcester, however, only give the words cole and slaiv in separate phices and define the latter as " sliced cabbage."

Combatant — k6m^bat-ant, not kom-bat^ant.

Combativeness — kCm^bat- ive-ness, not kom-btlt^ive- ness.

Come is often thoughtlessly used for go or some other word. If How is just leav- ing Howard's house it is right for How to say, " I'll come to see you soon," but Howard could not proper- ly say, at that place, the same thing. He sliould say, " I will go to see you

16

EltltOfiS OF STFECJT.

soon." If they both live in Phihidelphia and should meet in New York, neitlier could say appropriately, "I'll come to see you after I get home ; " that would mean that one would trav- el back from his home in Philadelphia to NewYork to see the other But eith- er might say, *' Come and see me when you get home."

Comparable — k5m^pa-ra- ble, not k6m-par^a-ble.

Complaisance. — kSm^pla- zans, not k6m-pla^zans. In compUiisant and complais- antly, the accent is also on the first syllable. Worces- ter places it on the third, thus : complaisant (kom- pla-Ziint^), etc.

Comptroller — kon-troHer, not k6mp-troKler.

Conduit — k5n^dit or kun^dit, not k6n^duit or kon^dute. A pipe or canal for the conveyance of fluid.

Confab, not conjlab. A con- traction of confabulation.

Congeries — k5n-je^ri-eez, not kon-je^rez nor k5n^je- rez. A collection of par- ticles into one mass.

Contemptuous, not con- temptible, when the man- ifestation of contempt for another is meant. I once heard a young lady de- scribing how she had with- ered at a glance a poor

young man that had in- curred her displeasure. ''O, I gave him such a contempt' ible look," said she. If in the enthusiasm of the rehearsal, the look that dwelt upon her features was akin to that given up- on the occasion mentioned, no auditor doubted the ex- act truth of what she said ; but she meant differently.

Contiguous — kon-tig^u-us, not kon-tij^u-us.

Contour — k5n-toor^, not k5n^t66r. The boundary lines of a figure.

Contra-dance is better than country-dance, the latter word being a corruption ; but it has become admissi- ble from long use Contre- dunse is the French origin- al, and means that the par- ties stand opposite to each other.

Contrary — k5n^tra-ry, not kon-tra^rv, interfering with the rhythm of the distich from Mother Goose's Mel- odies :

" Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow ? "

Contumacy — kQn^tu-ma-sy, not kon-tu^ma-sy. Obsti- nacy, stubbornness.

Contumely — k6n^tu-me-ly not k5n-tu^me-ly. Inso- lence, contemptuousness.

Conversant — k6n^ver-sant, not kon-v6r^sa,nt.

Eft no IRS OF STBECH^.

17

Conversazione — kSn^ver- siit-se-o^na, not kon-ver- sas^si-oue. A meeting for conversation, Worcester pronounces it koii-ver-siit- ze-o^na. The plural is con- versazioni (-ne).

Corporal punishment, not cor-po^re-al.

Cortege— kor^tazh, not kor''- teje. A train of attend- ants.

Councilor, is a member of council.

Counselor, one who gives advice. Worcester's spell- ling is councillor and coun- sellor.

Creek, not krick.

Creole. From Webster's dictionary are taken the following definitions and remarks :

1. " One born in Amer- ica, or the West Indies, of European ancestors.

2. " One born within or near the tropics, of any color. ' The term Creole negro is employed in the English AVest Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Afri- cans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people l^as led to an idea com- mon in some parts of the United States,though whol- ly unfounded, that it im- plies an admixture greater

2

or less of African blood.'

— R. Hildreth." Crinoline — krinVlIn, not

krn/o-line nor krIn''o-leen. Cuirass — kwe-ras^ or kwe^-

ras, not kiVrS^s. A piece

of armor. Cuisine — kwe-zen'', not ku-

seen^ or ku-zine^. Cooking

or cooking department. Culinary — ku^li-aa-ry, not

kuKi-na-ry. Cupola -ku^po-la, not ku-

po-16^.

3D.

Dahlia— diiKya or daK-ya, not daFya.

Dare not, notdarse'nt.

Data — da^ta, not dat^a, is the plural of datum (da^tum).

Debris — da-bre^, not de^brls nor da^bre. Rubbish, ruins.

Decade— dek^ade, not de^- kade nor de-kade^. Ten in number.

Defalcate — de-f^l^kate, not de-fa wKkate.

Defalcation — de-fal-ka^shun not de-fawl-ka^shun. Wor- cester gives def-al-ka^shun. No such word as defalca- tor is seen.

Deficit— dSf-'i-sit, not de-fi^- sit nor de-fis^sit. A de- ficiency.

Delusion, not illusion, when deception occurs from want of knowledge of the world, ignorance of business or trade, or from lack of acu-

18

U^^On^ OF STB ECU.

men generally. Illusions are deceptions arising from a teiiiporarily or perma- nently disordered imagin- ation, or from plienomena occurring in naiure : thus we vspeak of the ilhisions ot fancy, of dreams, and of optical illusions. The mi- rage ot the desert and the fata Morgana are instances of the latter.

Demonstrative — de-m5n^- stra-tive, not dgm^on-sti'a- tive.

Demonstrator — d6n/on- stra-tor, not de-mon^stra- tor. Worcester allows the latter.

Depot — de-p6^ or de^po, not da^po, nor d6p^po. Wor- cester sanctions de-p6^ only. I once had a friend, deceased now, of course, who called it de-p6/.

Dereliction der-e-iik^shun, not der-e-lek^shun. A for- saking, abandonment.

Deshabille— des-a-biK, 1 ,

Dishabille — dis-a-bi/, / '^ des^ha-beel nor dis^ha- becl. The French is des- habille, pronounced about like da-zii-be-ya, without any particular accent. Some persons, in their vain efforts to get the peculiar liquid sotmd of the double 1, sometimes used, distort the word terribly, pro- nouncing it even us broad as dis-lia-beei^vuli.

Desideratum — de-sid-e-ia^- tuni, not de-sid-er-at^- um ; plural, de-sid-er-a^ta. Something particularly de- sired.

Desperado — des-per-a''do, not des-per-ilMo.

Dessert— dez-zert^, not d6z^- zert, nor d&^sert : dessert- spoon (dez-zert^-spoon).

Die. One dies of a disease, not with it.

Differ. One differs with a person in opinion ; one person or thing differs /?'o?n tvnother in some quality.

Disappointed. One is dis- appointed of a thing not obtained and in a thing obtained. *'He will be disappointed of his ex- pectaiions."

Discourse — dis-k(

not

dis^kors.

Disputable — dis^pu-ta-ble, not dis-pii^ta-ble.

Disputant — dis^pu-tant, not dis-pu^tant.

Distich — dis^tik, not dis^tich. Tw'o poetic lines making sense.

Docible — d5s^i-b!e, not do^- si-ble. Tractable ; teach- able.

Docile — dossil, not do^sile.

Dolorous -- doKor-us, not do^lor-oils. Dolorously and Dolorousness are similai'ly accented ; but dolor is pronounced do^lor.

Doubt. "I do not doubt hat that it is so," is a very

JSHnonS OF STFFCH.

19

common error. The mean- ing conveyed is just the opposite to that which tlie speaker intends. He de- clares in otlier words, that he has no doubt hut a doubt that it is so ; or he does not doubt that it is false. " I have no doubt but," and ''there is no doul)t but," — are similar mistakes. The word " but " should be left out.

Dough-face m.eans one that is easily molded to one's will, or readily changed in his views, and not a putty- faced or white-faced per- son.

Dragomans, not dragomen, is the plural of dragoman, an Eastern interpreter.

Drama — drii^ma or dra^raa, not dram^a. Worcester says dnVma or dram'^a.

Dramatis Personae -drttna^- a-tis per-so^ne, not dra- mat^is pgr^so-ne.

Drank, not drunk, is the im- perfect tense of drink.

Ducat — duk^at, not dii^kat.

JE.

Ear — ear, not year. Persons frequently speak of the year -ache, and occasionally " a year of corn,^^ may be heard.

Ecce Homo — 6k^se h5^mo, not Sk^ke ho^mo.

Eider— iMer, not e^der. Ei- der-doivn and eider-duck.

Elm is pronounced in one syllable and not eKlum.

Elysian - e-liz^i-an, not e-lis^- sian. Worcester gives c-lTzl/e-an.

Embryo — en/bry-o, not em- bry^o.

Employe (Fr. employe) — gni-ploy-f/ or 5ng-plwaw- yiV, not employee or ong- ploy^a. Employee is not allowed.

E.ncore — 6ng-k6r^, not 6ng^- kor nor 6n^k6r.

Eneid — e-ne^id not e^ne-id. A poem of Virgil. Wor- cester sanctions both meth- ods of pronunciation.

Ennui — ong-nwe^, not 6ng^- we. Worcester gives a much simpler pronuncia- tion, viz : iin-we^.

Enquiry- en-kwi^ry, not &\V' kwi-ry.

Epsom Salt, not Epsom Salts.

Equable — e^kwa-ble, not ek%a-ble. *

Equally well, etc., not equal- ly as well, etc.

Espionage — es^pe-on-aje or 6s^pe-on-azh, not 6s-pi^o- naje nor es-pe^on-tizh.

Esquimau — 6s''ke-ra6, not 6s''qui-maw : plural, Es- quimaux (6s^ke-m6z), not es^ke-mawz nor 6s^ke-mo.

Etagere — 6t-a-zhai*^, not e- tazh^er-y nor at-tazl/i-a. Worcester's pronunciation is a-ta-zhar''. A piece of parlor furniture with shelves, used for placing

20

£J Hit OTIS OF STEECir.

small ornamenis and fancy articles upon ; a whut-not.

Excrescence — ex-kres^sense not ex-kre^sense. A super- tliious appendage : morbid outgrovvtli.

Expect has reference fo the future only, and not lol'lie present or past. " 1 expect that you are wrong." " 1 expect you were disap- pointed yesterday," are errors. There is an abund- ance of words that may be correctly used, as suppose, suspect, imagine, believe and think.

Expose (Fr. expose) — 6ks- po-za^, not ex-p6z^. An exposition ; statement.

Exquisite - 6ks^qui-zit, not eks-iiuiz^it6. Exquisitely is accented on the first syl- lable also.

Extant — ex^tant not ex-tttnt^

Extol— ox-toK, not ex-i6/. Extoiled/ex-tSld^, etc.

Facet — fiis^set not fa-s6t''. A small surface or face ; as one of the facets of a dia- mond.

Falchion — fawKchun, not iilKclii-on. A sword. Wor- cester sanctions fawKshan, also.

Falcon — faw^kn, not fal-kon.

Fang. When applied to a tooih, fang means the por- tion that is outside of the

jaw. This name is often, even by dentists, errone- ously given to the root or part that is set into the jaw.

Far, not fur.

Febrile— te^brilorf^bMl, not ie^brile. Relating to fever.

February, as it is spelled, and not F6b^u-a-ry, as many say and write it.

Feod, feodal, feodality — fud, fiid^al, and fu-daKJ-ty. Relating to a kind of ten- ure formerly existing in Europe, in which military seivices were rendered by the tenant as a considera- tion. Feud, feudal, feud- . ality, is the orthography generally adopted now.

Ferret. A ferret is an ani- mal of the weasel kind, used to drive rabbits out of their burrows, and not a species of dog.

Fetid -fei^id, not fe^tid.

Fetor —fe^tor, not f^i^or.

Finale — fe-nii^la, not finale or fi-naKly.

Finance —fi-njlns^, not fi''- nans.

Finances — fl-niin^s6z, not 11^- nan-sez.

Financier -fin-an-seer^, not fl-nan-seer^ Financial, and financially, have also the short i in the first syl- lable.

Finis — n'nis, not finals.

Firmament means the ex- panse of the sky : the heavens. The meaning,

EIRnonS OF S^EECIT.

21

solid foundation, is obso- lete.

Flannel, not jlannen.

Florid — floi-^id, not flo^rid.

Florin — d<5r^in, not llo-rin. A piece of money.

Florist — flo^rist, not fl6/ist.

Forage — Idr^aje, not fo^raje.

Forceps — foi-^seps, not for^- seps The word is spelled the same in both the singu- lar and the plural num- bers. Such mistakes as, " hand me a forcep," in- stead of " hand me a forceps," are very com- mon. Strictly speaking, " a pair of forceps," ought, I suppose, to mean two for- ceps ; but like the expres- sions " a pair of scissors " and " a pair of stairs," the phrase has been in use so long that it must be toler- ated.

Forehead — foi-^ed, not for'- h6d. Worcester allows either.

Foreign — fbr^in, not fur^in.

Fortnight — fort^nite, not fort^nite, fort^nit nor fort^- nit. Worcester gives what is authorized above and f6rt^nTt.

Fortress -f6r''tress, not for^- tress.

Fragile — fraj^il, not fra^jil nor fra^jiie.

Fritter, not flitter, is the name of a kind of fried cake.

Frivolity — fri-vSKi-ty, not friv^ol-ty.

Frontier — fr5nt^eer, not fiunt^eer nor frun-teer^.

Frontispiece — fr5nt^is-pese, not frunt^is-pese.

Fuchsia— fook^si-a, not fu^- shi-a. Worcester gives the latter.

Fuzz, not furze, is the word to use, if used at all, when the embryo whiskers, or the downy surface of fruit, etc , are meant. Down is the more appropriate word. Furze is the name of an evergreen shrub.

a-.

Gallivating, not gallivanting. Gallivanting is a word that is used to some extent, be- ing applied to persons that are roaming about for amusement or adventure ; as, " this young man has been gallivanting around." If it is a corruption of gal- lanting, it should certainly be abolished as a vulgar- ism ; but if it is a corrup- tion of gallivating, from gallivat, the name of a small sailing vessel, it might be clothed in its proper garb and retained as a useful word in our language. If either is used, the one above preferred should be chosen, at any rate.

Gallows— -gaKlus, not g&V- loz Gallowses, plural,

22

EfiftOnS OF SPEECH.

Gamin — ga-n::lng^, not gara^- in nor ga^min. A street child. Gape— giipe or gape, not gap.

Gargle. One gargles, not gurgles, the throat

Gaseous — ga//e-u.s, not gtlss- e-us. Worcester gives giVze-us too.

Gather giith^er, notgSth^er.

Genealogy — jen-e-aKo-jy, not je-ne-iKo-jy nor je-ne- ClVjy.

Genealogist ( jen-e-aKo-jist), genealogical ( j6n-e-a-l6j^- i-kal) and genealogically (jen-e-a-loj^i-kal-Iy).

Generic — je-ner^ik, not j?n^- er-ik, nor je-ne^rik. Re- lating to a genus, or kind.

Gerund — jer^und, not je- rund. A kind of verbal noun in Latin.

Get, not git.

Giaour— jo wr, not gi^oor, ji- owr^ nor joor. An epitiiet applied by the Turks to a disbeliever in Mahomet ; the name of one of Byron's poems.

Gibbet^ib^bet, not gib^bet.

Glamour — gla^moor, not glan/mur. Worcester gives gla^mer, also. A charm in tlie eyes, making them see things difierently from what they really are.

Gneiss — nis, not nes nor gnC'S. A kind of rock.

Gondola — g6n^do-la, not gon-do^la.

Got. Tliere are some stick- lers for niceties that over- do thenisetves in contend- ing that the use of the verb got is generally unneces- sary and incorrect in con- junction with Aofeand had. Get means to procn.ie, to obtain, to come into pos- session of, etc., and it is a very tame assertion that one simply has a thing that cost much mental or physical labor. A scholar has his lesson, but did it creep into his head while he passively shut his eyes and went to sleep ? On the contrary, he got it or learned it by hard study, and it is proper to say that lie has got it. A man has a cold, but he got it or took it by exposing himself. A person has a sum of money, but he got /)r earned it by his labor. Another has good friends, but he got or secured them by liis pleas- ant address. The great causes of the warfare against this word are, I think, tliat have and had, though generally used as auxiliaries, can sometimes be itsed as principal verbs and make good sense ; and that it has not been recol- lected that in the majority of cases got either stands for, or can be substituted for another verb. In con-

anno IRS or s'Pi:ecb:

23

firmation of this last state- ment, is appended the fol- lowing composed by Dr. Withers : " 1 got on liorse- back within ten minutes after I got your letter. When I got to Canterbury, I got a cliaise for town, but I got wet before I got to Canterbury ; and 1 have got such a cold as I shall not be able to get rid of in a hurry. I got to the Treas- ury about noon, but first of all I got shaved and dress- ed. I soon got into the se- cret of getting a memorial before the board, but I could not get an answer then ; however, I got intel- ligence from the messen- ger, that I should most like- ly get one the next morn- ing. As soon as I got back to my inn, I got my supper and got to bed. It was not long before I got asleep. When I got up in the morning, I got my break- fast, and then I got myself dressed that I might get out in time to get an an- swer to my memorial. As soon as 1 got it, I got into the chaise and got to (Jan- terbury by three, and about tea-time, I got home. I have got nothing for you, and so adieu."

Applying this test of substitution to any doubt- ful case, 1 think it right to

assert that if there is no other verb, or participle, that will appropriately take the place of " got," the latter word is unneces- sary / butitsliould hardly be considered as an error, as it is so slight an im- propriety compared with many others that are al- lowed, and especially be- cause we have long had the usage of many of the best writers to sanction the f^m- ployment of the word. The very people that appear to be so shocked at the use of the superfluous got, may generally be heard making use of such expressions as " fell down upon the ground," " rose up and went away," *' covered it over,'' and " a great, big fire." The down, up, over and big are certainly su- perfluities, but they have been heard so long that they are seldom mentioned as errors.

Gourmand — gooi-^raiind, not gor^mand, unless the or- thography gormand is used.

Gout— gowt, not goot, as act- ors are sometimes heard pronounce it in the follow- ing line from Macbeth : " On thy blade and dudg- eon, gouts of blood."

Government — guv^ern-ment not guv^er-ment. It is a

24

EJinOltS OF S^EBCJSr.

mistake, frequently made, to write and pronounce the word as if it iiad no '* n " in the penultimate.

Gra mercy — gra-mer\v, not gram''er-sy, A word for- merly used to express thankfulness with surprise.

Granary — grSn^a-ry, not gra^na-ry. There are no such words as grainery and grainary.

Gratis — gra^tis, not grS,t-is.

Grenade — gre-nade^, not grgn^ade. A kind of ex- plosive shell.

Guardian — giird^i-an, not giir-de^an.

Guerdon — ger^don, not gwer^don nor jer^don. A reward ; a recompense.

Guild -gild, not gild. Aso- ciety ; a fraternity.

Guipure — ge-pur^, not gim- pure'' nor gwi-pure^. An imitation of antique lace.

Gunwale — commonly pro- nounced gun^nel and spelled so sometimes.

Gutta-percha — gut^ta-per^- cha, not gtlt^ta-per^ka.

Gyrfalcon — jer''faw-kn, not jer^fa,l-kun.

Habitue(Fr. habitu^)— a-blt- u-a', not hab-it-u-e nor hab-it-u-a^

Halloo (hal-1650, holla (h6K. Ia),hollo(hcn6orh6l-lo0 or hollow (hSKlow), but

not h5Kler. Worcester gives halloo (hal-166'), holla (hSl-laO, hollo (h6l- 15^) and hollow (hSKlow or h6l-16w^). It is strange that with such a variety of words to choose from, peo- ple generally say " holler."

Hanged is preferable to hung, when the inflic- tion of the death penalty bv hanging is meant.

Harass — har^ass, not ha- rass^.

Harem — ha^rem, not hS,r^em, Worcester gives hii^rem also. Written also haram (ha-r3,m').

Hardly. DonH and canH should not be used with hardly. Such errors as, " I don't hardly believe it," are not uncommon. Hardly means scarcely, and the use of don't or can't gives an opposite significa- tion to the sentence.

Haunt — hant, not hSnt.

Haunted — hiint^ed, not hitnt^ed.

Hawaiian — ha-wi''yan, not ha-waw^yan. Relating to the island of Hawaii.

Hearth— hiirth, not berth.

Hearth-stone — hartl/stone, not herth^stone.

Heather — h6tl/er, not hetl/- er. Worcester gives heth''- er as the pronunciation.

Heinous — ha^nus, not he''- nus, hen^yus nor han^yus.

Herb — erb, not herb.

Enaoifis OF spEircH.

25

Herbaceous — her-ba''shus, not er-ba^shus.

Herbage- erb^ej or hgrb^ej, not her^baje.

Heroine — h6r^o-in, not he''- ro-ine nor be^ro-in. Wor- cester gives the first and the last of the above.

Heroism — h6r^o-izm, not he^ro-izm. Worcester sanc- tions both.

Hieroglyphic — hl-er-o-glif -

ik, not hi-er-o-grink.

Hindoostanee 1 , . i-- u- . . . > hin-doo-

Hmdustani /

standee, not hin-doo^stiln- ee. Worcester's orthog- raphy is Hindostanee and Hindostany, but the accent is on the penult as above.

Homage — h6m''aje, not 6m^- aje.

Homeopathy — ho-me-6p^a- thy, not ho^me-o-path-y.

Homeopathist - lio-me-op^a- thist, not h5^me-o-path- ist.

Hooping-cough — hoop^ing- cough,not h66p''ing-cough. Spelled Whooping-cough, also.

Horizon — ho-rI''zon, not h6r^i-zon.

Horse-radish — horse-rad- ish, not horse-rM-dish.

Hough - h6k, not huff. To disable by cutting the sin- ews of the ham. As a noun, the word means the joint at the lower portion of the leg of a quadruped ; written hock, also.

Houri — howr^y, not owr^y. A nymph of paradise.

Hovel — hdv^el, not huv^el.

Hundred, as spelled, not hui/derd.

Hydropathy— hl-dr6p^a-thy, not hl^dro-pith-y.

Hydropathist — hi-dr(5p^a- thist, not hi^dr6-p3,th-ist.

Hygiene — hl^ji-ene, not hi- geen^ nor hi^geen. Wor- cester authorizes the first and last.

Illustrate — il-liis''trate, not iKlus-trate. Illustrated, illustrating, illustrative and illustrator, are like- wise accented on the sec- ond syllable.

Imbroglio— im-broKyo, not im-brdKyo. Worcester says im-broKye-o

Immobile - im-m6b^il, not ini-mo^bil nor Im-rao^bile.

Imperturbable — im-per- tiir^ba-ble, not im-per-too^- ra-ble, nor im-pei-^tu-ra- ble. Incapable of being disturbed.

implacable — im-pla^ka-ble, not im-plak^a-ble.

Impotent — im^po-tent, not im -portent, I m potency and impotence are ac- cented similarly.

Improvise — im-pro-vlze^, not im^pro-vize.

Incognito — in-k5g^ni-to, not in-c6n''i-to nor in-c5g-

26

Sn^O'RS OF ST E ECU.

nisVo. Incog is an au- thorized abbreviation. In- cognita, is a female in disguise.

Indiscretion - in-di^-kr^s]/- un, noi in-dis-kre^shun.

Indissoluble — in-dis^so-lu- ble, not in-dis-sSKu-ble. Indissolubly, etc.

Industry — in^dus-try, not in- dus^try.

Infinitesimal — in-fin-i-t»Vi- nial, not in-fin-iCs^i-raal.

lngenious-in-jen^yus,moan9 possessed of genius ; skill- ful, etc.

Ingenuous — in-jgn^yu-us, means noble, open, frank, generous, etc.

Inquiry — in-kwi^ry, not in^- kwi-ry.

Inveigle— in-ve^gle, not in- va^'gle. Inveigler (in-ve^- gler) and inveiglement (in-ve^le-ment).

Irate -i-rate^, not i^rate. Worcester gives the latter.

Irrational — ir-rash^un-al, not ir-r:Vshun-al. Irra- tionally (ir-rilsh^in-al-ly), etc.

Irrecognizable — ir-re-k6g^- ni-za-ble, not ir-rSk^og-ni- za-ble.

irrelevant, not irrevelant. Not applicable; not suited.

Isinglass -Tzing-glass, is a kind of gelatine prepared from the sounds or air- bladdefs of certain fish, and is used in jellies, for clarifying liquors, etc. ;

while the transparent sub- stance, frequently called iainglas^, which is used in the doors of stoves and lanterns, is really mica, a mineral that admits of being cleaved into tliin plates.

Isolate— is^o-late, not i^so- late. Isolated (is''o-la-ted), etc Worcester gives iz^- o-late, etc.

Itch — itch, not ech.

Jamb, not jam is the spell- ing of the side-piece of a door, window or fire-place.

Jaundice —jJln^dis, not jan- ders.

Jean — ;jane, not jeen. A twilled cotton cloth. Writ- ten also jane.

Jew's-harp — juzOiiirp, not jus^'harp.

Jocund— jSk^und, not j6^- kund. Jocundity, jocund- ly, jocundness, have also the short o.

Jugular— ju^u-lar, not jiig'- u-lar.

Jujube— jiVJiibe, not ju'ju- be. " Jujube paste."

Just, not jest in such sen- tences as : " I have just done it ; " " He has jibst enough," etc.

Knoll — n5l, not n61.

JEimOJtiy OF ST'EECH.

Tl

Lamm, to bent, is not spelled lam nor Ifiinb.

Lapel — la-peK, not hlp^el. That part of a coat which laps over the faciiiii;'.

Lariat — iar^i-at, not If/ri-at. A lasso.

Lay. This word in the sense here considered is a transi- tive verb, or one in which the action or state implied by the verb, passes over to an object. The present tense is lay; the imperfect tense and past participle are laid; and the present participle laying. Requir- ing an object in each of the various meanings at- tached to it, it is proper to say : "The hen lays an egg every day ;" " The man laid his load on the ground ; " "The rain has laid the dust ; " " The hunter is lay- ing a snare." The verb lie is an intransitive verb and can have no object after it. Tiie present tense is lie; the imperfect tense is lay ; the past participle is lain ; the present participle is lying. Having no objective case to which the action or state passes over, it is correct to sav : '' Ohio lies north of Kentucky ; " '' The sick man lay upon the bed yes- terday ; " " He has lain there helpless for weeks ; "

" The goods I bought are lying on my hands." Con- trasting the sentences un- der each verb it will be readily seen that Ohio does not lie Kentucky, but the hen lay^ the egg ; the inva- lid did not lay the bed like the man laid his load; he has not lain anything, as the rain has laid the dust ; and the goods are not lying anything, as the hunter is laying the snare. If the foregoing differences have been carefully observed, I imagine that it will always be easy to select the prop- er word by remembering the following rules :

1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that must pass over to an object, use lay, laid and laying.

2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that does not pass over to an object, use lie, lay, lain and lying.

" He laid upon the bed," then, is incorrect, for the verb has no object. It should be : " He lay upon the bed." But, " He laid himself upon the bed," would be correct, for there is an objective case, himself, supplied. " Let these pa- pers lay," should be, " Let these papers lie." " The ship lays at anchor," should

28

E ft It on S OF STEBCff.

be, " The ship lxe% at an- I chor." " The ship laid at anchor," should be, " The ship lay at anchor." " They have laid in wait for you," should be, " They have lain in wait for you." "This trunk is laying in our way," should be, " This trunk is lying in our way." Errors connected with the use of these verbs are more com- mon, probably, than any others in our language, being detected in the con- versation and writings of many of the best educated people. Attention to the above rules, and a few trial sentences in the different moods, tenses, numbers and persons, ought to make the selection of the proper word so simple, that per- sons should seldom make mistakes.

Learn. Lea^-n-iTii; is done by the scholar or student, and teaching by the instructor. " She will learn me how to play," should be, *' She will teach me how to play," etc.

Leasing — leez^ing, not les^- ing. An obsolete word meaning falsehood ; lying. " Thou shalt destroy them that spe.ik leasing. "-B('6/e.

Leg. Of late years there has become quite popular a prudish notion that it is indelicate to say leg when

one of the limbs that sup- ports the human body is meant, limb being prefer- red instead. Leg is cer- tainly a less euphonious word than limb, and if the latter had the same signi- fication attached to it, there would be no objec- tion to its employment ; but limb means ar?n just as much as it does leg. There is nothing immodest in the sound or meaning of the word leg; if there were, it would be well to speak of the limb of a table, a limb of mutton, or a three limbed, stool ; and the men- tion of such words as lega- cy or legate should cause the blush to rise to our cheeks. The very use of the word limb indie ites what is passing in the mind of the speaker — a thought of leg, an indelicate mean- ing attached to it, and a fear to speak the word. The mind of the listener is affected similarly and the result is that a conver- sation intended to be per- fectly pure, has a slight stain left upon it. If we could pass through life without ever finding it nec- essary to speak of our legs to strangers, there would be no danger of compro- mising ourselves ; but run- away and other accidents

Efi^ons OF sf'FFCB:.

29

are constantly occurring in which legs are broken or otherwise injured. When a surgeon is called, if he i told that a limh is injured, he has one chance in four of guessing the riddle. Tt is not always safe to trifle thus with some of the se- rious, practical old follow- ers of Esculapius. Before now they have given such rebukes as to make people ashamed that they did not say lefj in the first place ; or they have left the bed- side abruptly with such a remark as : " When you find out whether it is your arm or your leg, send for me again." If people will persist in using Umh for Ug, it is to be hoped that they will adopt some ad- jective prefix to remove all ambiguity. How would north-east, south-east, etc., do? Any one informed that the south-east limb was fractured, would know at once that it was the right leg.

Legate — Igg^ate, not le^gate.

Legendary — l6j^end-a-ry, not le^jgnd-a-ry.

Leisure — le^zhur, not Igzh^- ur, nor la^zhur. Leisure- ly (le^zhur-]y).

Length, not I6nth. Every letter is sounded, also, in lengthy, lenghten,length- iness, et<;.

Lenient — le'ni-ent, not I6n^- i-tnt. Leniently (le^ni- ent-ly), etc.

Lethe — le^the, not leth ; the th is as in both. The mytiiological and poetical name of a river of the in- fernal region, the drinking of a portion of which caused forgetfulness of the past.

Lethean — le-the^an, not le^- the-an.

Let's. It should be remem- bered that lefs is really let us, the apostrophe denot- ing the elision of the u. Such expressions then as : "let's us go," ''let's him and me go," should be, " let us go " (or let's go), and '' let him and me go ; " for who Avishes to say " let us us go," or *' let us him and me go."

Leverage — lev^er-aje, notle^- ver-aje.

Licorice — lik^o-ris, not lik^- er-ish .

Lie. See Lay.

Lien — le^en or li^en, not leen. A charge upon property for the satisfaction of a debt.

Lighted is preferable to lit as the imperfect tense and past participle of light. " He lighted the gas," in- stead of, *' He lit the gas." " I have lighted the fire," instead of, " I have lit the fire," The same remarks

30

E^no^s or s:PBECiT.

apply to the imperfect and participle o\' lifj/d taken as an intransitive verb. " The bird has lifjhted upon the tree," instead of, " has lit upon tlie tree." Lit is condemned as common.

Lithographer — li-thog^ra- pher, not lith^o-graph-er, nor ll-tli6g^ra-pher. Li- thography (ii-thog^ra- phy).

Loath — loth, not loth ; the th is as in both. Rekictant. Written sometimes loth. The verb is loathe, with the ih as in breathe.

Lyceum— li-se^um, not li^'se- um.

Machiavelian — mak-i-a-veK- ian, not mash-i-a-vei^ian. Pertaining to Machiavel ; politically cunning.

Mad. In the sense of pro- voked, wrathful or indig- nant, angry is generally considered the more appro- priate word. " Mad as a March hare," is an indeli- cate term that should not be used on account of its origin.

Madame — mil-dlim^, not macKam.

Magna Charta — magna kiir^- ta, not magna clulr^ta.

Manes — ma^nez, not manz. The souls of the dead.

Manor — man^or, not lUcVnor

Marigold — mar^i-gold, not ma^ri-gold .

Matin — mat^in, not ma^'tin.

Matins — raat^inz, not ma''- tinz.

Mattress — mat^tress, not ma- trass^. AVritten also mat- rass and pronounced as the first.

Meaw — mu, not meyow. To cry like a cat.

Mediocre — meMi-o-ker, not me-di-o^ker, nor me-di- ok^er.

Melange — ma-l6ngzh^, not me-lanj^.

Melanotype — me-lan^o-type, not me-lan^o-type.

Melodrama — mel-o-dra^ma, not mel-o-dram^a, nor m6l- o-dra^ma.

Memoir — mem^woror mem''- wor, according to Webster; Worcester gives me-moir'' or men/wiir.

Mesdamss — ma-diim^, not mez-dames''.

Metallurgy — m6t^al-lur-jy, not mc-taKlur-jy.

Metaphor. The "failure to distinguish between met- aphors and similes, is a very common mistake. In a metaphor the resem- blance is implied without any words to show the sim- ilarity ; as soon as the lat- ter are added it becomes a simile. '' Hope is an an- chor," and " Judah is a lion's whelp" are meta- pliors. " Hope is like an anchor," and ''Jiidah is like a lion's wlicip " are similes.

^TiSO^'f ^r S^BBC/T.

31

Metrical — mgf'rik-al, not me^trik-al.

Mezzo — ragd^zo or met^zo, not mez^zd. An Italian word meaninji; middle ; not extreme. Mezzo-sopra- no (mgd^zo-so-prii^no) ; between contralto and so- prano ; said of the voice of a female singer. Mez- zotinto, etc.

Microscope — ml^kro-scope, not mik^ro-scope. Micro- scopic (mI-kro-sc6p^ic). Microscopy (mi-kros^- co-py).

Mien — meen, not mane.

Mineralogy — min-er-aKo-jy, not min-er-6Ko-jy.

Minuet — min^u-et, not min- u-6t^. A dance.

Mischievous — mis''che-viis, not mis-che^vus, nor mis- che^ve-us. Mischievously and mischievousness are also accented on the first syllable

Modulate. This word is of- ten used incorrectly instead of moderate in such senten- ces as : " Modulate your voice," when it is meant to command or request that the tone be moderated or lowered. Modulate means to vary or inflect in a mus- ical manner, and although the word might often be used with propriety in such sentences as the above, yet it is not always what is meant by the speaker. A

person's voice may be per- fectly modulated and yet the tone may be so high that it is desirable, upon certain occasions, to have it moderated.

Moire — mwor, not more nor mo^re. Moire antique (mwor an-tek'').

Molasses. It may seem in- credible to those who have never heard the error I am about to mention, that such a ridiculous blunder could occur, I should hardiy have believed it myself, if I had only heard 0/ it ; but I was once in a portion of the country where all the people for miles around spoke of molasses as if it were a plural noun, and I frequently heard such re- marks as the following : ** These molasses are very good; they are the best 1 have seen for some time." I once began to remon- strate with one of tho champions of the plu- rality of the treacle, and insisted that he should say, ^^ this molasses" and, *' it is good," etc ; but it was of no avail. Ife in- sisted that the word was analogous to ashes, and if one was plural so was tlie other. There was no good dictionary or other relia- ble authority in the neigh- borhood, as might be im-

82

IJftltOfiS OF STFECS,

agined from what has been said, so they were left hap- py in their ignorance.

Monad — m5n'ad, not mo^- nad. An ultimate atom.

Monogram — mon^o-gram, not mo^no-gram.

Monograph — m6n^o-graph, not m'l^no-graph.

Monomania — mon-o-ma''nia, not mo-no-ma^nia. Mono- maniac (m6n-o-ma''ni-ac).

Moor — moor, not more. An extensive waste ; a heath. Moor, the name of a na- tive of North Africa, is similarly pronounced.

Morale — mo-riiK, not m5r^- ale nor mo-raK.

Mountainous — mountain- ous, not moun-ta^ni-oiis.

Multiplication — mul-ti-pli- ca''tion, not mul-ti-pi-ca^- tion.

Murrain — mui-^rin, not mur^- rane. A disease among cattle.

Museum — mu-ze^um, not nuVze-um.

Mushroom, not mush-i^oon.

Musk-melon, not mu.^h-melon; but anything before mush- million.

Mussulmans, not miisselmen, is the plural of Mussul- man.

Mythology — nn-th6Ko-jy, not mi-tli5Ko-jy.

Naiad — mVyad, not na^id nor na^ad. A water nymph.

Nainsook — nan-sook'', not nan-sook''. A kind of mu:-l;n.

Naive — nii^ev, not nave nor niive. Natural artless.

Naivete — nil^ev-ta, not na- vete^ nor na-ve^ta.

Nape— nap, not nSp. The back part of the neck.

Nasal — na^zal, not na^sai nor niis^al.

Nasturtium or Nasturtion, not asturtioii.

Negligee — n6g-li-zha^, not n6g-li-je^, nor n6g^ii-zha.

Newspaper — nuz^pa-per, not nus^pa-per.

Niche — nich, not nick, when a concave recess in a wall for an ornament is meant. If a piece is chopped roughly out of anything, it is a nick. Nick of time, not 7iiche of time, when a critical moment is meant ; but in figura- tive language there is no doubt that the phrase " niche of time," may be appropriately used. A great event may be said to stand in a niche of time as an example for coming ages.

Nomad — n5m^id, not no^- niad. One of a wander- ina: tribe. Written nom- ade (noni'ade) also.

Nomenclature — no-men- cUVture, not no^men-cla- tiire.

Nominative, not nom-a-tive.

E^^Oltc! OF STB ECS.

33

Nonillion — no-nllKion, not n6n-ilKion.

Nook — nook, as given by AVebster, Woicesier sanc- tions both nook and nook.

Notable — not^a-bie, not no^- ta-ble, wiien it is applied to a person distinguished for thrift, management, care, etc; as a, notable house- keeper.

Nymphean — nim-fe^an, not nini^e-an. Kelating to nymphs.

O.

Obesity — o-bgs^i-ty, not o- be^si-ty.

Obligatory — 5b^li-ga-to-ry, hot 6b-lig^a-to-ry.

Often — oFn, not 6t''t6n.

Omega— o-me^ga or o-meg^a, not 6m^e-ga. Worcester allows the hrst only.

Onerous — on^er-ous, not o^ner-ous.

Only-on^]y, not lin^ly.

Onyx — o^nyx, not on^yx.

Opal — 6^-palj not o-paK nor 6-pawK.

Opponent — op-p5^nent, not op^go-nent.

Ordnance, not ordinance, when cannon, artillery, etc., are intended. Ordi- nance is a rule established by authority

Orgeat — or^zhat or 6rViia, not 6r^je-at. Worcester gives dr^zhat.

Orthoepy — 6r^tho-e-py, not 6r-th5^e-py. 3

Orthoepist — 6r^tho-e-pist,

not or-tho^e-pist. Overflowed, not overflown.

Palaver — pa-la^ver, not pa-

lav^er. Pall-mall — p6l-m6K, not pawl-ma-svK. The name of a game formerly played in England ; and tlie name of a street in London. Written also pail-mail and pell-mell^ both pronounced as above. Pell-mell used as an adverb means mixed together in a disorderly manner; but one person can not rush pell-mell. Papaw— pa-paw^, not p6p^- paw as commonly called. Written also pawpaw. Papyrus — pa-pi^rus, not pap^i-rus. A material used for writing upon by the ancients, made from the inner bark of a plant. Parent — par''ent, not pa^rent. Parisian — pa-riz^ian, not pa- risl/ian nor pa-riss''ian. Worcester gives pa-rizh^i- an. Paroquet — par^o-quet, not

par-o-ket''. Parquet — par-ka'' or piir- ket''. Worcester allows par-ka^ only. Parquette — piir-ket^, not

piir-ka,''. Partner, not pardner. Partridge, noi pattrij.

34

H'RftO^S OF Sl^EFCII.

Patent. The adjective is pro- nounced either patient or pa^tent. When used as xi verb or a noun it is pro- noumted pilt^ent.

Patois — pa,t-w6^, not pat^wS nor pit-waw^.

Patriot — pa'tri-ot, not pat^- ri-ot. Patriotic, patriot- ism, etc., have also the long a. Worcester gives the same ""Aith the excep- tion of patriotic, wliich he pronounces both pa^tri-ot- ic and pSt^ri-ot-ic.

Patron — pa'tron, not pat^ron. Patroness and patronless have also the long a.

Patronize — pat^ron-ize, not pa^tron-ize.

Patronage — pat^ronaje, not pa'tron-aje.

Pease, not peas, when an un- counted quantity is referred to, as : a bushel of pease, a plateful of pease, some more pease, etc Peas when a certain number is men- tioned, as : a dozen peas, fifty peas, etc.

Pedal — ped^al, not pe^dal, when tiiat portion of a piano or harp that is acted npon by the leet, is meant. Pfc''(lal is an adjective, and means pertaining to the above, or to a foot.

Perfect. I have selected this as the representative of a class of adjectives that, strictly speaking, do not admit of comparison. I

have noticed, invariably, that those who appear to be so anxious to correct the error of giving degrees of comparison to a fcAV stereotyped words of thia class, such as round, square, universal, chief, extreme, etc., are singularly remiss in calling attention to a great many other mistakes of the same kind that are equally prominent. Amongst the latter may be mentioned the comparison of correct, complete, even, level, straight, etc. It will be admitted that if anything is perfect it can not be more so ; and as soon as it is less so it fails to be perfect at all. So, if anything is correct it is perfectly free from error ; it can not be made more correct, and if its correct- ness is detracted from, it is not quite correct any longer. A straight line is one that does not vary from a perfectly direct course in the slightest degree; it can not be straighte-' and if it could be less straight, it wou'.d be curved. It is ri- diculous for any one to in- sist upon a national refor- mation of a few such er- rors, and sudor a hundred O' hers just like tiiem to ex- ist without remonstrance. Either nearer and nearest, more nearly, and most near-

J^finO^S OF S^EACJT.

35

ly, and the like, should be substituted for tlie degrees of comparison and used witli all such words ; or people should treat them as all other adjectives, just as the best writers and speakers have always done. The former course is the more desirable ; the latter is certainly the more pi'ob- able. Perfidious — per-fid^i-ous, not pSr''fid-ous. "Worces- ter allows per-fid^yus in addition to the first. Peony (pe^-ny) Pseony (pe^o-ny) or Piony ipi^- o-ny) not pi^ny as often called. A flower. Perambulate, not preambu-

late. Period — p3^ri-od, not per^i- od. Periodic, Period- ical, etc., have also the long e. Perspire, not prespire. Perspiration, not prespira-

tion. Persuade. This word car- ries with it the idea of suc- cess in one's endeavors to convince or induce. " I persuaded him for a long time, but he would not grant my request," should be, " I tried to persuade him," etc. Petre! — pet^rel, not pe^trel. A bird. Worcester allows the latter also.

Phaeton — ph;Vet-on, not pha^te-on. A vehicle.

Pharmaceutist - fdr-ma-su^- tist, not fiir-ma-ku^tist nor fdr-ma''ku-tist.

Pharmacopoeia — fiir-ma-co- p5''ya, not far-ma-co^pi-a.

Piano- pi-a^no, not pi-ru/o. AVorcester allows pi-an^o.

Piano-forte — pi-ii^no-for^ta, not pl-an^o-foi-t. Worces- ter sanctions pi-ii^no-for^te, pi-an^o-for-te, and remarks in parenthesis, often pe-rm^- o-fort ; but the last pro- nunciation is evidently not preferred.

Pilaster — pi-las^ter, not piK- as-ter. A square pillar set into a wall and project- ing slightly.

Piquant — plk^ant, not pik^- want nor pek^want. Piqu- antly (pik^ant-ly), etc.

Placard — pla-kiird^, not plak^ard.

Placid — plas^id, not pla^sid. Placidly and placidness have also the short a.

Plait — plat, not plat nor plet. A braid ; or to braid. Plat (plat) is a proper word, however, having the same meanings, but the differ- ence in pronunciation must be observed, when the spelling is as above. Plait, meaning a fold of cloth, as in a shirt bosom, is also pronounced plat. How common an error it is to

86

:Enno^s of s-peecii.

speak of tlie ^heM when alluding to such folds.

Platina — plai^i-na or pla-te^- na, not pla-ti^na nor pla- tin^a. Worcester allows plat^i-na only.

Platinum — piat^i-num or pla-tl^num, not pla-te^nuni nor pla-tn/nm. Worces- ter gives plat^i-num only.

Plebeian — ple-be^ian, not ple^bi-an. Ple-bon', as 8ome pronounce it, is out- rageous, neither French, English, nor Hottentot.

Plenary — ple^na-ry, not plen^'a-ry. Full ; entire. Worcester gives both meth- ods.

Poetaster — p5^et-as-ter, not po'et-tast-er. A petty poet.

Poniard — pSn^yard, not poa/yard.

Posthumous— p6st^hu-mous, not post^hu-mous nor post- u^mous. Posthumously ( p6st'hu-mous-ly ) .

Potable— po^ta-ble, not pot'- a-ble. Drinkable.

Potheen — po-theen^, not pO:-teen^. When spelled potteen, however, as it may be correctly, the lat- ter pronunciation is prop- er.

Prairie— pra^ry, not per-ra^- ry.

Prebenda r y — p r6b^end-a-ry , not pre'bend-a-ry. A clergyman of a collegiate or calhedral church, who enjoys a prebend.

Prebend — prSVend, not prc'bend. A stipend

Precedence — pre-sGMence, not pre.s^c-dence. Prece- dency and precedently, have the second syllable accented also.

Precedent — pre-se'dent, not prSs''e-dent. An adjective meaning antecedent.

Precedent — pre.s^e-dent, not pre-se^dent nor pre^se-dcnt. A noun meaning an exam- ple or preceding circum' stance. Preoedented and unprecedented have also the short e.

Precocious — pre-ko^shus, not pre-k6sh'u.-^. Preco- ciously and precocious- ness have also the long o.

Predatory— prgdVto-ry, not pre^da-tory. Plundering; pillaging.

Predecessor — pred-e-c6s''- sor, not pve-de-ces^sor.

Preface -pref^ace, not pre'' face- Prefatory (prfit^a- to-ry).

Prejudice, not predudice.

Prelate- preKate, not pre''- late.

Presage, not prestige, when something is meant that foreshows a future event ; an omen. " This is a p'es- cif/e of victory,"

Prescription, not perscrip- tion.

Prestige, not presage, when it is meant tjiat some one carries weight or influence

Enno^s OF speech:

37

from past deeds or success- es. "The predi(]G of the hero's name was half tlie battle."

Presentiment — pre-sent^i- ment, not pre-zent^i-iuent.

Pretty— prit^iv, not priS/ty. Prettily (pritAi-ly), etc.

Preventive, not preventative.

Primeval — pri-iae'val, not prim'e-val.

Process— pros^ess, not pro''- sess.

Prodigy, not proj id y.

Produce — prod^ace, not produce. The noun ; the verb is pro-duce^.

Product — prdd^uct, not pro^- duct.

Progress — pr6g^ress, not pr6''gress. Noun ; the verb is pro-gress^.

Prosody — pr6s^-dy, not pro^so-dy nor proz^o-dy.

Protean — pro^te-un, not pro- te'an. Assuming different shapes.

Protege (Fr. protege) — pro- ta-zha', not pro^teje. One under the care of another. Protegee (PV. protegee) — pro-ta-zha^, feminine.

Psalm — siim, not sam. Psalmist (flim^ist). Wor- cester gives sam^Lst also for the latter word.

Psalmody — s^lKmo-dy, not siim^o-dy nor sam-o-*dy.

Psychical — si^kik-al, not sik^ik-al nor f iz^ik-al, as it is sometimes thoughtlessly pronounced in reading.

Pertaining to the human soul.

Pumpkin, not punkin. Pnnip- kin it.self is a corruption of pumpion or pompion, but is the word that is now generally used.

Purulent — pu^ru-lent, not pur^u-lent. Containing pus or matter. Purulence and purulency have also the long u in the first syl- hiMie.

Put - p66t, not put. This an- omalous pronunciation is hard for some to adopt, the natural tendency being to sound the u as it is in a host of other words con- sisting of two consonants with a short u between them, as : I un, but, cut, dug. fun, gun, hut, nut, etc.

Pyrites — i^I-ri^tez, not pe-ri''- tez, pir^i-tez nor pi^ritez.

Qualm — kwiim, not kwam. Worcester allows kwawm also.

Quey — ke, not kwa.

Querulous, means complain- ing, whining, etc., and not questioning.

Quinine— kAvi^nme or kwi- nine^, not kwi-neen^. Wor- cester gives kwi-nine^ or kwh/ine.

Quoit— kwoit, not kwate.

Quoth — kwdth or kwuth, not kw6th.

38

E^ftOHS OF STEECH.

Rabies — nVbi-ez, not ra.b''- ez. Madness, as that of dogs.

Radish— i-ad^isli, not r6d-ish.

Raillery — i-aKler-y, not rfiK- ler-y. Slight ridicule ; pleasantry.

Raise — Rise. JRaise is a transitive vei'b, or one in which the action passes over to an object. Present tense, raise; imperfect tense and past participle, raised; present participle, raising. Riseis an intransitive verb, the action not passing over to an object, Pi*esent tense, rise; imperfect tense, rose; past participle, risen/ pres- ent participle, rising. Er- rors in the use of these words ought to be avoided by remembering the fol- lowing rules :

1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that passes over to an ob- ject, use raise, raised, and raising.

2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that does not pass over to an object, use rise, rose, risen, rising. To avoid further repetition in the method 1 have adopted to impress upon the mind the difference between transi- tive and intransitive verbs by contrasted sentences, I

would refer the reader to the remarks under Lay. " I will raj.se in the morn- ing at five," should be, " I will rise,^' etc. "I will raise the ivindow,'' etc., is correct, for the action pass- es to or affects the win- dow. " I will 7'aise myself if I have the strength " is correct, because an object, myself, is furnished. *' The price of flour is raising,^' should be, " The price of flour is rising; " but it is right to say, " The mer- chants are raising the price of flour." "Gold has raised in value," should be, " Gold has riseii in value" "The price of bonds raised in less than an hour," should be, " The price of bonds rose,^^ etc. "The sun is raising," should be, " The sun is rising.'^ " The sun is raising the temperature," is proper. The pulse has risen, but excitement has raised it. The river has risen in its bed and has raised the canal. Birds rise in the air. Arise can of- ten be appropriately sub- stituted for rise.

Rampant — ram^pant, not ram-pant^.

Rapine— rip^in, not rilp^een nor ra-peen^.

Raspberry — nlz^ber-ry, not rilss^ber-ry nor rawz'ber-

En^on^ OF s'puEcif.

39

ry. Worcester gives raz^- ber-ry and rjis^ber-ry.

Rational — rasl/un-al, not rii-shnn-al. Rationalist (rasl/un-al-ist), etc.

Recess — re-c6ss^, not re''cgss.

Recherche (Fr. recherche) — riih-sher-sha^, not re- shersh^. Worcester gives ra-sher-sha''.

Recluse— re-kluse'', not re- klnze^.

Reconnoissance — re-c5n^- nois-san9e, not rek-on- nois^sanye. Worcester

gives re-cQn^nois-siinpe^. Reconnaissance is another method of spelling.

Recriminations, not mutual recrimination^; the word itself tells of the mutuality.

Redolent — r6d^o-lent, not redo^lent. Diffusing odor or fragrance.

Relevant, not revelant. Per- tinent ; applicable

Relic, not relict, when that which remains, a corpse, or anything preserved in remembrance, is meant. Relict means a widow.

Rendezvous — r6n^de-voo, not r6n^de-v6o nor rgn^de- vooz. Worcester gives r6n^de-voo and r§n^de- vo5z. The plural is ren- dezvouses (rgn^de-vooz- ez).

Requiem — re^kwi-em, not r6k''wi-em. Worcester

gives both pronunciations.

Resume (Fr. resume) — ra-

zu-miV, not re-zurae^ nor re-zu^ma. Worcester gives rez-n-ma^.

Reticule, not ridicule, when a little bag of net-work is meant.

Reveille — re-vaKya, not r6v- a-le^. Worcester gives the first and re-vaK.

Ribald— rib^ald, not ribald. Low; obscene. Ribaldry (rib^ald-ry).

Rinse — rinss, not rSnse nor wrgncli. " Wrench your mouth," said an unedu- cated dentist to a patient after wrenching out a large molar. '' Thank you," re- plied the patient. " You have done that, but I'll rinse it, if you please."

Ripples, not riffles.

Romance — ro-manss'', not ro''mans's.

Roseate — ro^ze-at, not roz^- ate. Worcester gives ro^- zlie-at also.

Roue (Fr. roue) — roo-a'', not roo. Worcester gives roo^a

S.

Sacerdotal — sas-er-d5^tal, not sa-ser-do'tal, sa-ker- do^tal nor sak-er-do^tal-

Sacrament — sak^ra-ment, not sa^kra-ment. Sacra- mental (sak^ra-ment-al), etc.

Sacrifice — sSk^ri-fTz, not s3-k^ri-fis nor sa,k^ri-fise.

40

EnJiOnS OF STBECH.

Verb and noun the same. Sacrificing (sak^ri-fi-

ztnij), etc.

Sacristan — sak''rist-an, not sa^krist-ar. nor sa-kri.s''tan. Sacristy (s;tk^ri.si-y).

Sal am — sa-IIim^, not sa-lS.m''. Written salaam also, and pronounced similarly.

Saline — su-line^ or sa^llne, not sa-ieen^. Worcester gives sa-line'' only.

Salve — siiv, not sSv. Wor- cester gives siilv also.

Samaritan — sa-ma,r^i-tan, not sa-ma^'ri-t'in.

Sanitary, not sanatory, when pertaining to health is meant. Sanatory is more restricted in its applica- tion, and means healing; curative.

Saracen — sSr^a-sen, not ?^r^- a-ken.

Sarsaparilla — siir-sa-pa-rlF- la, not sas-sa-pa-riKla, nor sar-sa-fa-riKla.

Satyr — sa''tur, according to Webster. Worcester gives sat^ir also.

Saucy — saw^sy, not sassy.

Said. Said (sSd), not says (s6z), in speaking of past remarks. Many of the most cultivated people are guilty of this vulgarism. '' ' 1 will call to see you soon,' 862 he." "'I will be glad to see you at any time,' sez I." Where the details of a long conversa- tion are given the frequent

repetition of sez^ or even said, is very grating to the retined ear. The use of asked, inquired, remarked, suggested, answered, replied, etc., instead, has a pleas- ing effect upon narrative or anecdote. It is prefer- able, also, to give the exact ivords of the speaker after said, etc., as: "When he had finislit^'il reaaing the letter, he said : ' I will at- tend to the business the first leisure moment I have.' " When the word tkat follows the soid, the substance only of the re- mark may be given, as : " He said that he would attend to the business the first leisure moment he had." Whichever form is used in narrative, it is not at all harmonious to give the exact words of one speaker and only the sub- stance of the remarks of

. another, at least without regard to regularity in alternation.

Schism — sizm, not skism.

Seckel, not sick-el. A kind of pear.

See. It is not uncommon to meet with people that incorrectly use see in the imperfect tense, as : " I see him yesterday," instead of, " I saw him yesterday." See is never used in any tense but the present, with-

£jnftOltS OF STEJEJCir.

41

out an auxiliary, as did, shall, etc.

Seignior — sen^yur, not san^- yor.

Seine — sen, not san. A net tor catching fish.

Senile — se^nile, not s6n^ile. Pertaining to old age.

Separate, not stpende. The loss of the a is not noticed in the pronunciation, but the mistake frequently oc- curs in writing this word as it does in the words in- separable, inseparable- ness, separation, etc.

Servile — ser'vil, not -j/vile.

Set. Noun. There are many who incorrectly use sett in writing of a set of dishes, a set of chess-men, a set of teeth, or of some other collection of things of the same kind. A sett is a piece placed upon the head of a pile for striking upon, when the pile can not be reached by the weight or hammer.

Set — ^Sit. Blunders in the use of these words are amongst the most common we have. Set, as we shall first consider it, is a trans- itive verb, or one in which the action passes over to an object. Present tense, set; imperfect tense and past participle, set; present par- ticiple, setting. Sit is an intransitive verb, or one which has no object after

it. Present tense, sit; im- perfect tense and past par- ticiple, sat; present parti- ciple, sitting

To avoid repetition as much as possible, I would refer any one to whom the explanation here given is not perfectly clear, to the rules and remarks under Lay and Raise, v. hich are equally applica^-le here. " Will you set on this chair?" should be, "Will you sit on this chair?" " Will you set thi? chair in the other room ? " is correct. " I set for ray picture yesterday," should be, *'[ sat,'' etc. ''This hat sets well," should be, "This hat sits Avell." '' Court sets next month," should be, "Court sits next month." " The hen has been setting for a week," should be, ''The hen has been sitting,^^ etc. As cross as a setting hen," should be, " As cross as a sitting hen." But a person may set a hen ; that is, place her in position on eggs. One sits up in a chair, but he sets up a post. One sits down on the ground, but he sets down figures. Set is also an intransitive verb and has special meanings at- tached to it as such, but they may be readily un-

42

^fmOHS OF Sl^Ei:CF£.

derstoocl by a little study of the dictionary, and no confusion need arise. The sun se's. Plaster of Paris sefe. A setter dog %eU. One Mb out on a journey. Sit may also be used in two senses as a transitive verb, as : *' The general 8\t?, his horse well," and '' The woman sat herself down."

Sew - so, not su.

Shampoo, not shampoon. Shampooing. Written al- so champoo.

Shekel — shCk^el, notshe^kel.

Shumac — shu^mai<, not shu- mak^. Written also su- mac and sumach, both ac- cented on the first sylla- ble.

Sick of, not sick with, as sick of a fever.

Sienna — si-6n^na, not senna, when paint is meant. Sen- na is a plant used as med- icine.

Simultaneous — sl-mul-tf/- ne-ous, not sia/ul-ta^ne- ous. Simultaneously (si- mul-ta'ne-ous-ly), etc.

Since, not sence.

Sinecure — si^ne-cure, not sin'^e-cure. An office which yields revenue without la- bor.

Sit. See Sat.

Slake — slake, not sliik, when the word is spelled as given, as : slaked lime, to slake one's thirst, etc. If

spelled slack, the ordinary

pronunciation is right. Slough - slow, not slo5 nor

slo. A mud hole. Writ-

teii sloo (sloo) also. Slough — sluf, not as above.

The cast skin of a serpent.

Dead flesh which separates

from the living. The verb

expressing this action is

pronounced the same. Sobriquet — so-bri-ka^, not

written soubriquet. Worces-

terpronounces it s6b^re-ka''. Soften -s6f^fn, not sawf'^ten. Sonnet — sSn^net, not sun^-

net. Soot — soot or s56t, not sut. Soporific — s5p-o-rif^ik, not

so-por-irik. Sotto Voce — s5t^to vo^cha,

not sQL^to vos^ nor s6t^to

v5^se. Souse — souss, not sowze.

To plunge into water. Spasmodic, not spasmotic. Spectacles — sp6k^ta-kls, not

Kpek^tik^els. Spermaceti — sperm-a-se''ti,

not sperm-a-pit^y. Spider, not spiter. Splenetic — splgn^e-tic, not

sple-n6t^ic. Fretful ; jieev-

isli. Spoliation — spo-li-a^tion,

not spoil-action. Spurious — spu^ri-ous, not

spur^i-oiis. Spuriously

(spiVri-ous-ly), etc. Statical — stilt^i-cal, not sta''-

ti-cal. Pertaining to bod- ies at rest.

I^n'ROfiS or ST^ECH.

43

stationery, not stationary, when paper, envelopes, ink, etc., me meant.

Statue, not statute, when a carved image is meant.

Statute, not statue, when a hiw or decree is meant.

Stearine — ste^a-rin, notstgr^- In.

Stereoscope (ste^re-o-scope), stereotype (ste^re-o-type), etc., according to Webster ; and st6r^e-o-scope, ster'e- o-type, etc., according to Worcester

Stolid — stdKid, not sto^lid. Stupid ; dull.

Stratum — striatum, not strat^um. Strata (stra^ta), the Latin plural is used much more than the Eng- lish stratums. Errors like "a strata of gravel," are also not unfi;equently heard.

Strategic — stra-te^jik, not straf'e-jik. Strategical (stra-te^ji-cal) and strate- gist (strat^e-jist). AVor- cester gives stra-t6j^ic and stra-tej''i-cal.

Strum or Thrum should be used, and not drum, when the noisy and unskillful fingering of a musical in- stiument is meant.

Stupendous — stu-pen^dus, not stu-pgn^jus nor stu- pen^de-us.

Suavity — swav''ity, not swiiv^i-ty nor suav'i-ty.

Subtraction, not substraction,

when the act of deducting is meant. Substraction is a law term meaning the "withholding of some right, for which, however, the word subtraction is also used. Subtract, not siib- stract.

Subtile— sub^til, not siit^tle.

Subtle— suf'tle, not siib^tle.

Suffice — suf-fiz^, not suf-fis^.

Suicidal — su-i-si^dal, not su- is^i-dal. Worcester places the principal accent on the first syllable.

Suite — sweet, not sate. When the word suit is used, however, the lat- ter pronunciation is cor- rect.

Sulphurous — siiKphur-us, not sul-phu^rus nor siil- plm^re-us. Sulphureous is another word.

Summoned, not summonsed.

Supersede, superseded, su- perseding. Observe the s in the penultimate. It is a common error to write supercede, etc

Supposititious — sup-pos-i- ti^shus, not sup-po-si^shus. Put by a trick in the place of another, as, a suppositi- tious child, a supposititious record.

Surtout— sur-toot^, not sur- towt^ nor stir^toot.

Swath —swawth,not swawthe. Worcester gives sw6th. The SAveep of the scythe in mowing.

44

Efinofts OF ste:ecb:.

T. Tabernacle — tab''er-na-cle,

not tab^er-nilk^cle.

Tapestry — tfip^es-try, not ta^pes-try.

Tarlatan — tiir^la-tan, not tar/tun. Tartan is a dif- ferent material.

Tarpaulin — tar-paw^lin, not tar-po^lin. Written also tarpauling and tarpawl- ing.

Tartaric — tar-titr^ic, not tar- tar^ic. Pertaining to or obtained f:om tartar, as tartaric acid.

Tassel — tas^sel, not taw^sel- Worcester gives tSs^sl also.

Tatterdemalion — tat-ter-de- marion, not tat-ter-de- niaKion.

Telegraphy — te-l6g^ra-pliy, not tt'Ke-graph-y.

Telegraphist — te-l6g'ra- phist, not teFe-graph-ist. A telegraphic operator, No such word as telegraph- er is given.

Terpsichorean — terp-sik-o- re^an, not terp-si-ko^re-an. Kelating to Terpsichore (terp-sik''o-re), the muse who pusided over danc- ing.

Tete-a-tete — tat-a-tat , not teet-il-teet.

Theatre or theater — the^a- ter, not the-a^ter.

Threshold — thrSsh^old, not threz/old nor thrSz^hold. Worcester gives thrgsh^- hold.

Thyme — tim, not as spelled.

Tic-douloureux — tik^doo- Joo-roo^, not -d6l-o-ro5^ nor -do-lo-roo''.

Tiny— ti^ny, not tee^ny nor tii/y.

Tolu — to-lu'', not tu^Iu.

Tomato — to-nuVto or to- ma^to, not to-mat^o-

Topographic- t5p-o-griipl/- ic, not to-po-grapl/ic. Topographical and topo- graphically have also the short o in the first syllable.

Tour — toor, not towr.

Tournament — tiir^na-ment, according to V/ebster. Wor- cester gives toor^na-ment also.

Toward and towards — to''- ward and to^wurdz, not to- ward^ and to- Viirdz^.

Tragacanth — uiig^a-kanth, not traj^a-sinth nor tnlg^a- sttnth. A gum used for mucilage.

Traverse — triiv^erse, not tra-verse^ Traversable, traversing and traversed have also the accent on the first syllable.

Tremendous — tre-mgn^dus, not tre-m6n^de-us nor tre- mfin'^jus.

Trilobite — tri^o-bite, not triKo-bite nor tr5Klo-bIte, as it is often called.

Troche — tro'kee, not trosh, tro''she, troke nor tr5tch. Plural, troches (tro^keez). A lozenge composed of su- gar, mucilage and medi-

E^nons OF STEECIT.

45

cine, as : bronchial troches.

Trochee — tro^'kee, is a

foot in poetry. Truculent- tru^ku-lent, not

truk^u-lent. Truths — truths, not truthz,

is the plural of truth. Tryst — trist, not trist. An

appointment to meet.

Tryster (trist^er), tryst-

ing (trist^ing). Turbine — tiir^bin, not tiir^-

blne. A kind of water

wheel.

TJ.

Umbrella — um-br5Kla, not

uii:-ber-r6l'' nor um-ber-

rgKla. Upas — ii^pas, not u^paw nor

i/pawz. Usurp — yu-zurp'', not yu-

surp^. Usurper (yu-zurp^-

er), etc.

Vagary — va-ga''ry, not va''- ga-ry.

Valenciennes — va-]6n''si- enz^, not val-gn-seenz^. A French lace.

Valleys, not rallies, is the plural of valley.

Vamos (va^mos), or vamose ( va-mose^), not vam-moos''. To depart. (Inelegant.)

Vase, according to Webster; vase or vaze, according to Worcester. The pronun- ciations vaz and vawz are alluded to but not recom- mended.

Vehemence — ve^he-mence, not ve-he^'mence nor ve^ hem^ence. Vehemently and vehement have also the accent on the first syl- lable.

Vermicelli — ver-me-ch6l-ll or ver-me-seKli, not ver- me-siKly. Worcester sanc- tions the first method only.

Veterinary — vet^er-in-a-ry, not ve-t&r^in-a-ry.

Vicar — vik^ar, not vi^kar. Vicarage and vicarship have also the short i in the first syllable.

Violent (vi^o-lent), violence (vi^o-lence), violet (vi^o- let), violin (vi-o-lin^), etc., not voi^o-lent, voi^o-lence, voi^o-let, voi-o-lin^ etc.

Viscount — vi^kount, not vis''- kount. Viscountess (vi^- kountess), etc.

Visor — viz^or, not vi^'zor.

Wake, etc. Wake is both a transitive and an intransi- tive verb. Present tense, wake; imperfect and past participle, waked; present participle, ivaking. Awake is also both transitive and intransitive. Present,

aimke; imperfect, awoke or awaked; participles, awaked and awaking. Awaken is another verb, boih transi- tive and intransitive. Pres- ent, awaken; imperfect and

46

^Ji^OnS OF SIPEBCJI,

past participle, avjakened; present participle, awaken- ing. Thus it is seen that we have a great many words to express the fact of being in a conscious state, and the arousing of a person who is asleep. With a little attention there is no reason for com- mitting an error in the use of these words. One may say that he ivaked, awoke, or aivakened early in the morning, but it is wrong to say that he woke in the morning, or that he ivoke another ; for there is no such word as woke. '" I wakened at live o'clock," should be, " I aivakened at five o'clock ; " for there is no such word as ivukened. Vp is used only with wake, waked and waking, but even then it is one of our most senseless superflui- ties. There is no stronger meaning in the assertion that a man was waked np, than that he was waked or awakened. If waking up meant to loake and make get up, it would be differ- ent, but it does not. One may be waked up and it is just as likely that he will go to sleep again as if he were simply awakened. Awake and awaken are

more elegant words than wake.

Wassail — wos^sil, not wils^- sil. A festive occasion, carousal, the song sung at such a time, etc. The verb and the adjective are spelled and pronounced similarly.

Water — waw^ter, not w6t^er.

Welsh, not Welch. The lat- ter word is seldom used. Welshman, etc.

Whinny, not winny, when the cry of a horse is spoken of.

Whisk, not lohist, when a small hand-broom is meant. Wisp, however, is a proper word, meaning the same thing.

Whiting is preferable to whitening.

Widow. It is not necessary to say widow woman; no one will suspect her of being a man.

Wrestle— rgs^l, not rils^sl.

IT.

Yacht — y6t, not yat. Yacht- ing (ySt^ing), etc. Yeast — yest, not est. Yellow— yeKlo, not yiino.

Z.

Zoology — zo-6Ko-jy, not zoo- 6ro-iy. Zoological (zo- o-l6j''i-cal), etc.

SCRIPTURAL, MYTHOLOGICAL AND OTHER PROPER NAMES.

In the vocabulary just completed, it has been the design to point out the majority of errors occurring in the pronunciation of the words usually selected by people of fair or excellent education to carry on or- dinary English discourse. In the portion of the work now under consideration, nothing like such thoroughness is contemplated.

After a moment's reflection, it will appear to any one, that to mention the thousands upon thousands of proper names, the erroneous pronunciation of which is rather to be expected than the correct, would require an elaborate volume. Every one who has striven to become a fine orthoepist has longed for the ability to comprehend the pronunciation of that myriad of names, any one of which is apt to confront him in any book or paper he may chance to pick up. But to become a proficient in this re- spect would require years of study and a knowledge of the principles of many foreign languages.

Amongst geographical names, for example, who but the specially instructed would think of pro-

(47)

48 E^^onS OF Sf'EECB:.

nouncing correctly Goe% (Hooce), Gelves (Hel'ves) or Jalapa (Hii-la'pa) ; or amongst biographical names, Gaj (gi), Gtel (Hal) or Gei'jer (gi'er).

It is fortunate for the reputation of those who bear the name of being good scholars, that errors in the pronunciation of most proper names are excusable, which is not the case with the mistakes that have before been laid down. But there are some proper names, of such constant occurrence in daily lectures, heading and conversation, that errors connected with them are not to be overlooked. It is the intention here, simply to call attention to the more common of these, and to lead the reader to appreciate the fact that if one depends upon the usual power of the En- glish letters to gain a correct pronunciation of proper names, he will be more often led astray than otherwise.

The Authorities consulted are the best — Webster, AVorcester, Lippincott's Universal Pronouncing Dic- tionary of Biography and Mythology and Lippin- cott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World.

SCRIPTURAL NAMES.

A bed n ego — a-b6d''ne-go, not

ab-gd-ne^go. Abiathar — a-bi^a-lliar, not

ab-i-a^thar. Adonibezek — a-dSn-i-be'-

z6k, not a-dSn'i-be-zek. Adonijah — ad-o-ni^jah, not

a-d5n^i-jah. Agee — 5.g^e-e, not a^je- Ahasuerus — a-ha.s-u-e''rus,

not a-haz-ii-6r^us. Aijalon — aj^a-lon, not a^ja-

lon. Akrabattine — ak-ra-bat-ti''-

ne, not ak-ra-bSt^i-ne. Alpheus — al-phe^us, not &V-

phe-ns. Amasai — a-m5s"'a-i, not am-

a-sa^i. Andronicus — an-dron-i''cus,

not an-dr5n^i-cus. Antiochia — an-ti-o-ki^a, not

an-ti-o^kia. Ararat — ai-^a-rat, not a^'ra-

rat. Arimathea — ai-^i-ma-the'a,

not ar-i-ma''the-a. Aristobulus— ar-is-to-bu^lus,

not ar-is-t5b'u-lus. Aroer— 5r^o-er, not a-ro^er. Aroerlte — S,r^o-er-ite, not

a-ro^er-ite

Asarael — a-sS,r^a-el, not az-

a-ra^el. As mode us — az-mo-de^us, not

az-mo^de-us. Beelzebub — be-6Kze-bub,

not bSl^ze-bnb. Belial — be^li-al, not be-li''al. Bethhaccerem — b6th-hak^-

pe-rem, not beth-has^se-

rem. Bethphage-beth^pha-je, not

bgth^phaje. Bethuel — be-tlm^el, not

bethel -el. Cainan — ka-i^'nan, not ka^-

nan. Cherub fa city) — ke''rub, not

cher^ub. Chittim — kif'tim, notchit''-

tira. Chloe — klo^e, not klo. Crates — kra^tez, not kratz. Cyprians — sip^ri-anz, not

si^pri-anz. Delilah — d2Ki-lah, not de-

iriah. Ecbatana — ek-bat^a-na, not

ek-ba-ta''na. Eloi — e-lo'i. not e^loi. Esther — 6s^ter, not gs^ther. Eumenes — u'me-nez, not

u-me^nez.

(49)

50

JESSOnS OF STEECJT.

Gennesaret — g5n-nes^a-ret,

not jen-nes''a-ret. Gerar -ge^rar, not je^rai-. idumea — id-u-me^a, not i-du-

nie^a. Iturea — it-u-re^a, not i-tu-

r5'a. Jacubus — ja-ku^bus,notjak^-

u-bns. Jadau — ja-da^u, not j3,d^-

a-ii, Jairus (Old Test.) — ja^i-

rns. Jairus (New Test.) — j:'i.-i'-

rns. Jearim— je''a-rim, not je-a'-

rim. Jelel — je-i^el, not je^el nor

jl^el." Jephthae — j6pl/tha-e, not

jt'j)l/tlia. Jeshohaiah — j6sh-o-ha-i^ah,

not jesh-o-ha^yah. Keilah — ke^lah, not kriah

nor ke-i^lah. Kolaiah — k5l-a-i^ah, not k51-

ii^yah. Labana — lab^a-na, not la-

bjVna. Lebanah— I6b''a-nah, not le-

biVnab. Magdalene — nifig-da-le^ne,

not nutg^'da-lene. Mahalath — ma^'ha-lath, not

ina-lir/Iath. Mardocheus — mar-do-ke''iis,

not niar-do^ke-us. Matthias — matb-tbl^as, not

niatb^tbi-as. Meremoth — nier^e-motb, not

me-re^niotb.

Meshach — me^'shak, not

niiSsb^ak. Methuselah — me-tbu^se-lah,

not mStb-u^ze-lah. Moosias — mo-o-si^as, not

mo^si-as. Nebuchadnezzar — n$b^u-

kad-ne//zar, not ne-bCik^-

kad-nez^zar. Orthosias — or-tho-si^as, not

6r-tbo'si-as. Othonias — 6th-o-nras, not

otb-o^ni-as. Oziel — o^zi-el, not o-zi^el. Penuel — pe-nu^el, not p6n'-

ii-el. Perseus — per^sus, not per^-

se-us. Pethuel — pe-tbu^el, not

petb^i-el. Phanuel — pha-nu^el, not

plian^n-el. Pharaoh — pb:Vr5 or phii^ra

o, not phar^o nor pbar^a-o. Philippi — phi-lip^pi, not

phiKlip-pi. Philistine — phi-lis^tin, not

pbiKis-tine. Pontius — p6n''shi-us, not

p5n^ti-ns. Raguel— ra-gu'el, not rslg^n-

el. Sabachthani — sa-bak-tha^ni,

not sa-biik^tba-ni. Sathrabuzanes — satb-ra-

bu-za^nez, not s3,th-rab^u-

zilnz. Shabbethai — shab-b6tb^a-T,

not sbab-bgth-a^I Shadrach — sbiVdrak, not

sbad^rak.

EfiftOnS OF STBJECH^.

Shemlpamoth — she-mir^a-* moth, not sli6m-i-ra^- niotli.

Shemuel — she-niu^el, not sliem''u-el.

Sinai — si^na, not si^na-i.

51 zak-ke''us, not

Zaccheus -

zak^ke-us Zerubbabel — ze-rQb^a-bel,

not ze-rub-ba^bel. Zipporah — zip-p6^rah, not

zip^po-rah.

GREEK AND LATIN PEOPER NAMES- MYTHOLOGICAL, ETC.

Actseon — 3.k-te^on, not ak''-

te-on. Adonis— a-do''nis, not a-d6n''-

is. Alcides — 3,l-si''dez, not aKsi-

dez. Amphion — 5,m-phi^on, not

riiu^])lii-on. Amphitrite — am-phi-tri^te,

not iirn^phi-trite nor am-

phit^ri-te. Anabasis — a-nab^a-sis, not

'an-a-ba^sis. Antiope— iln-tro-pe, not tin''-

ti-ope nor lin-ti-o^pe. An u bis — a-nu^bis, not iln^'u-

bis. Arion — a-ri^on, not a^ri-on. Aristides — ar-is-ti^dez, not

ar-is^ti-dez. Aristogiton — a-ris-to-ji^ton,

not ar-is-t6j^i-ton. Belides (sing;ilar, mascu- line)— be-irdez. Belides (plural, female de- scendants of Belus) — bfiK-

i-dez. Belierophon — bel-ler^o-

plion, not bel-ler-o^pbon. Caeculus — sek^u-lus, not se^-

ku-lus.

Calliope — kal-lTo-pe, not

kal-li-6'pe nor kaKli-ope. Caucasus — kaw'ka-sus, not

kaw-ka'sus. Charon — k:Vron, not cha^-

ron nor char^on. Chaeronea — ker-o-ne^a, not

cher-o-ne^a. Chimera — ke-me^ra, not

kini^er-a nor chi-m6r^a. Codrus — ko^drus, not kod^-

rus. Corcyra — kor-sl^ra, not

kor^si-ra. Coriolanus — ko-ri-o-la^nus,

not kor-i-6Ka-nus. Crete— kre^te, not kreet. Cyclades — sik^la-dez, not

sl^kla-dez. Cyclops — srklops, not sik''-

lops. Cyclopes — si^klopez, not

si^kiops. Cyrene — si-re^ne, not si- ren e^. Cyzicus — siz^i-kus, not si-zr-

kus. Danaides — da-na^i-dez, not

da-ni^dez. Darius- -da-ri^us, not da'ri-

us.

(52)

H: a no US OF STUECJT.

53

Deianira — de-i-an-i^ra, not

de-yan-i^ra. Diodorus — di-o-d6''rus, not

di-6d^o-rus. Diomedes — di-o-me^dez, not

di-6m^e-dez. Dodonaeus — do-do-ne^us,not

do-do^ne-us. Echo-e''ko, not 6k^ko. Endymion — en-dim^i-on, not

en-di^mi-on. Epirus — e-pi''rus, not 6p^i-

rus. Erato — €r^a-to, not e-ra^to. Eumenes — u^me-nez, not

u-nie^nez. Euripus — u-ri^pus, not u^ri-

pus. Eurydlce — u-rid^i-se, not

u^ri-dice'' nor u-ri-di^se. Ganymedes — gan-i-me''dez,

not gan-i-raedz^. Geryon — •je'^rl-on, not je-ri^-

on. Halcyone — hal-si^o-ne, not

haKsi-one nor hal-si-6^-

ne. Hebe— he^be, not heb^. Hecate— hCk^a-te or liSk^at,

not he^kate. Hecuba — hek^u-ba, not lie-

ku^ba. Helena — heKen-a, not he-

le^na. Hermione — hgr-mi^o-ne, not

h6r''nii-6ne nor h6r-mi-6^-

ne. Herodotus — he-r6d^o-tus,

not her-o-do^tus. Hiero— bi^er-o, not bi-e^ro. Hippocrene — bip-po-kre^ne,

not hip-p5k^re-ne.

Hippodromus — hip-p5d^ro- mus, not bip-po-dro^inns.

Icarus — ik^a-rus, not ik-a^- rus.

lolaus — i-o-la^us, not i-6''la- us

I p h i c I u s— ipb^i-klus, not iph-

rkius.

Iphigenia — iph-i-je-ni''a, not

ipb-i-je''ni-a. Irene — i-re^ne, not i-reffe^. Ithome — i-tbo^me, not itb^o-

me. Lachesis — lS,k^e-sis, not la-

ke^sis. Laocoon — la-6k^o-on, not la-

o-ko6n^, Lethe — le'tbe, not letb. Leucothoe — lu-k6tb^o-e, not

lu-ko^tbo-e nor lu-ko-

tbo^e. Libitina — lib-i-ti''na, not li-

bit^i-na. Lycaon— li-ka^on, not lik^a-

on. Lyceus — li-se^us, not lis''e-us. Meleager — me-le-a^ger, not

me-le-a^jer nor me-le^a-jer. Meroe — m6r'o-e, not me-

ro^e. Mitylene — mit-I-le^ne, not

mit^i-lene. Myrmidones — myr-mid''o-

nez, not myr''mi-d6nz nor

myr-mi-do^nez. Naiades — na-i^a-dez, not

na^a-dez. Nemesis — ngm^'e-si?, not ne-

me^sis. Nereides — ne-re^i-dez, not

ner

^yi-dez

N e r e u s — ne^rus, not ne-re''us.

64

Entto^s OF speech:.

Nicsea — ni-se''a, not nis^e-a. Nundina — nui/di-na, not

nufi-di^na. Ocean us — o-se^a-nus, not

o-se-a''nus. Ocypete — o-sip^e-te, not o-si-

pe^te. CEdipus — ed^i-pus, not e^di-

pus nor e-di^pus. Opigena — o-pij^e-na, not op-

i-Je^na. Orion — o-ri''on, not oM-on. Pactolus — pak-to^lus, not

pik^to-lus. Palaemon — pa-le^mon, not

paKe-raon. Parrhasius — par-ra^f*he-us,

not par-ras^i-us. Pasiphae — pa-siph''a-e, not

pas-i-pha^e. Pegasus — p6g^a-sus, not pe-

gtVsiis. Penelope — pe-ngFo-pe, not

p6n^e-]6pe. Phlegethon — phlej^e-thon,

not phl6g^e-thon. Pleiades — ple^ja-dSz not

ple''y3,dz.

Polyphemus — pol-y-phe''-

nius, not po-liph^e-mus. Priapus— pri-a''pus,notpri^a-

pus. Proserpine — pr6s^er-pine,

not pro-?6r^pi-ne. Rhode — roMe, not rode. Sarapis — sa-ra^pis, not sar^-

a-pis. Sardanapalus — sar-da-na-

ptVlus, notsar-dan-ap^a-liis. Semiramis — se-mir^a-mis,

not s6m-i-ra''mis. Tereus— te're-us, notte-re^'us. Terpsichore — terp-sik^o-re,

not terp^si-kore. Thebae — tlie^be, not thebe. Theodamas — the-6d^a-mas,

not the-o-da^mas. Theodamus — the-o-da^raus,

not the-6d^a-mus. Theodotus — the-5d^o-tu3,

not the-o-d6''tus. Theodorus — the-o-do^'rus,

not the-6d^o-rus. Thessalonica — thes-sa-lo-

ni^ka, not tlies-sa-l6n^i-ka. Thrace — thra^se, not thrase.

MODERN BIOGRAPHICAL NAMES.

Adam. As an English name

is pronounced ad^'am ; as

Frencli, il-dSng^; as Ger- man, a''dara. Annesley — anz^le, not an^-

nes-le. Arundel — ar^un-d6l. not

a-run^d6l. Bacciochi — biit-clio^kee, not

bak-ki-o'kee. Beatrice — ba-a-tree^ehii or

be^a-treess, not be-iit^ris Beethoven — ba^to-ven, not

beet^ho-ven. Belvedere — bel-\sa-da^ra, not

bSl-ve-dere''. Beranger (Fr. Beranger) —

ba-r5iig-zba'', not ber'^an-

jer. Blucher — bloo'ker, not blu^-

clier. Boccaccio — bo-kaf'cho, not

bSk-kas^i-o. Boieyn — bSoi^in, not bo^lin

nor bo-Iin^. Boniface— b5n''e-fass or Fr.

bo-ne-fass^, not bQn^e-face. Boucicault or Bourcicault —

boo-se-ko^ or boor-se-ko^,

not boo^se-kawlt. Bozzaris — b5t^za-ris, not

boz-zar^is, as generi4,lly

called.

(55)

Brown-Sequard (Fr. Se- quard) — brown-sa-karr'', not see-kward^.

Buchanan — buk-an^an, not bu-kan^an.

Bull, Ole-o^eh b661, not 6K bo6l.

Buonaparte — boo-o-na- piirr^ta, not bo^na-part ; tlie hitter is the allowed English pronunciation when spelled Bona- parte.

Bysshe — bTsh, not bish^she.

Cecil — s6s^il or sis^il, not se^sil.

Cenci— chgn^chee, not s6n^- see.

Chevalier — sheh-va-le-a^, not shev-a-leer^.

Crichton — kri^ton, notkrik^- ton.

D'Aubigne (Fr. D'Aubigne) — do-ben-ya^, not daw- been^

Daubigny — do-ben-ye^, not daw-be^ny.

Disraeli — dlz-ra^el-e, not diz^rel-ee.

Drouyn de Lhuys — droo- a.ng^ deh Iwee'.

Gillot — zhe-yo^, not jiKlot nor jil-lo^

56

£;3i^0nS OF ST^ECH.

Giovanni — jo-van^nee, not je-o-viln^nee.

Goethe — pronounced much like giir^teh, leaving out the r ; not g6tli nor goth.

Hemans — h6m''anz, not he''- manz.

Ingelow — in^je-lo, not ing^- e-16.

Ivan — e-van'', not i^'van.

Juarez— jo6-a''r6z or Hoo-a^- rgth, not jaw^rgz.

Lancelot — 15ngss-16^, not I5n^se-I5t.

Lavater — la^vii-ter or la-va- taii*^, not lav^ater.

IVIacleod — mak-lowd'', not mak-le'od.

Marat — ma-ra'', not ma-r3,t''.

Marion — ma,r^i-on, not ma''- ri-on.

Medici — ni6d^e-chee or ma^- de-chee, not m6d^i-see nor me-de^see.

Minie (Fr. Minie) — me-ne- a^, not min^'ne.

Montague — ni6n^ta-gu, not m5n^tag.

Moultrie — mo5^tre, notmoK- tre.

Muhlbach (Ger. Miihlbach). The u in the first syllable of this word is very diffi- cult for those to pronounce who are not German or French, and can not be well represented in Eng- lish ; but there is no need of coming so far from the

mark as is generally done, especially in the last sylla- ble. It is not muKbak nor

me

l^bak

meuKbak is

nearer correct. Mundt — m66nt, not munt. Neumann — noi^man, not

nu^man. Ovid — 6v^id, not o^vid [Ov-

idiu?]. Paganini — pa-ga-nee''nee,

not paj-a-nn/i. Pepin — pgp^Tn or pippin, not

pe^pin. French pronun- ciation peh-pilng''. Piccolomini — pek-ko-15m^-

e-nee, not pik-ko-lo-mee^-

nee. Pliny — plin^y, not pirny

[Plinius]. Ponce de Leon — p5n^tha

da la-on'', not ponss de

le''on. Rachel — ra-sh6K, not nV-

chel as the English name.

When a German name it

is pronounced riik^el, Richelieu — resh^e-166,

rich^e-loo. Rochefort — rosh-for^,

roch^fort. Rothschild — ros^chlld or

rot^shilt, not rdth^child. Stael — stal, stawl or sta-6K,

not stale. Strauss — strow.ss, not

strawss. Taliaferro — t5Ki-v6r, not

tal-i-f^r^ro. Thiers — te-air^, not theers.

not

not

MODERN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES.

Abomey — ab-o-ma'', not a-

b5in^ey nor a-bo^mey. Acapuico— a-kii-pooFko, not

ak-a-puKko. Adriatic — ad-ri-S,t^ik, not a-

dri-at^Tk. Af g hanistan — af-gan-is-tiin'',

not af-gan-is^tan. Agulhas — a-gooKyiis, not a-

guKhas. Aix-la-Chapelle — akz-lii-

sha-pSK, not a-la-sliS-pfiK. Alsace — al-sass^, not aKsas. Altai— al-ti^, not aKta nor

aKti. Amherst — am^'erst, not am''-

herst. Amoor — a-moor', not Sm^-

66r nor a^moi-e. Antilles — ong-teeK, not Sn^-

teelz. Araguay— a-ra-gwi'', not ar^-

a-gwa. Aral — ar^al, not a^ral. Arkansas — ar-kan^sas, not

ar^kan-saw nor ar-kan-zaz. Asia — a^she-a, not a'^zhe-a. Bantam (Java) — ban-tam^,

not ban^tam. Barbados or Barbadoes —

bar-ba^'doz, not bar^a-doz.

Barbados, a river of Bra-

zil, is pronounced bar-ba''-

dnce. Bayou — bi^oo or bi^o, not

ba^u. Belfast — b6l-fast^, not b6K-

iast. Beloochistan — b6l-oo-chis-

tan^, not b6l-oo-chis^-

tan. Bingen — bing^'en, not bin''-

jen. Bombay — b5m-ba'', not

b6m^ba. Bremen (Germany)— brgm''-

en or bnVmen, not bre^-

men. Bremen (U. S.) —

bre^men. Buena Vista — bwa^na vees^-

ta or bo^na vis^ta, not bu.^-

na vis^ta. Buenos Ayres — bo^'nos a^'riz

or bo^nos airz, not bu^nos

arz; Spanish pronuncia- tion, bwa^noce i^rfis. Cairo (Italy and Egypt) —

ki^ro, not ka^ro. Cairo

(U. S.)— ka^ro. Calais— kal-'is or ka-la^, not

ka-las''. Canton (China) — kan-t6n^,

not kan^ton. Canton (U.

S,)— kan^ton.

(57)

58

jsnnofts OjF s-PEECir.

Cape Girardeau — jee-rlir-

do^, not jee-iiuMo. Caribbean or Carribbean —

kiir-ib-be^an, not kij-rlb^-

be-an. Cashmere— kiisli-meer^, not

kush^mere. Cayenne— ki-6n^ or ka-yen'',

not kii-en''. Cheyenne— she-en^, not shi-

en^ nor clia-&n^. Chili — chlKlee, not she^lee. Christiania — kris-te-ii^ne-ii,

not kris-te-a^ne-a nor kris-

te-an^a. Chuquisaca — choo-ke-sa^kii,

not choo-kwi.s^a-kii. Cincinnati — sin-sin-nal/ti,

not sin-sin-nat^ta. Cochin China — ko^chinchi^-

na, not kocl/in chi^na. Delhi (India) — dSKIee, not

dSl hi. Delhi (U. S.) —

deKhi. Dubuque — du-bo5k^, not du-

buk^ Fezzan — fgz-ziin'', not i&if-

zan nor ftz-zan^. Freiburg — fri^b66rg, not

fre^burg. Genoa — j6n^o-a, not je-

no^a. Gloucester — glos^ter, not as

spelled. Gloucestershire

(glos^ter-shir). Greenwich (England) —

givn^idge, not as spelled.

Greenwich ( U.S. )— green^-

ich. Havre de Grace — hav^er de

grass, not ha^ver de gras''.

French pronunciation,

lui^v'r deh griiss or a''v'r

dell griiss^. Iowa — i^o-wa, not i-o^vva nor

i^o-wa. Java (Island) — ja-''va, not

jav^a nor ja^va. Java (U.

y.) — -ja^va. Jeddo (Japan) — yodMo, not

jwl'do. Jeddo (U. S.)—

jed^do. Juniata — jo6-ne-al/ta, not

jo6-ne-et^a. Kankakee — kan-kaw^kee,

not kang-ka-kee''. Ladoga — lii^do-gii, not la-

do'ga. Lausanne (Switzerland) —

lo-ziin^, not law-san^. Lau- sanne (Pennsylvania) —

lavv-san . Leicester — Igs^ter, not as

spelled. Leicestershire

(ies^ter-shir). Leipsic (Saxony) — lip'sik,

not leep^sik. Leipsic (U.

S.) — leep^sik. Madrid (Spain) — mii-drid'',

not mad^rid ; Spanish pro- nunciation, niii-DreeD^ —

almost maTH-reeTH''.

Madrid (U. S.) — mad^-

rid. Mauch Chunk — mawk

chunk^, not mawch

shunk^. Milan — niiKan, not mi^lan. Modena (Italy) — mod^cn-a,

not rao-de^na. Modena

(U. S.) — mo-de^na. Nantes — nantz, not nSn^tez;

French pronunciation,

n6ngt.

E^^o'Hs or sTi:i:cir.

69

Neufchatel — nush-ii-teK, not

no6l^clia,t-el. Newfoundland — nu^fond-

lancK, not nu-found^land. Norwich (England)— norMj,

not nor^wich. Norwich

(U. S.) — nOr^wicli or nor^-

rich. Otaheite — 6-til-liee''te, not

o-ta-lieet^. Panama — pan-a-mii^, not

pan^u-maw. Persia— per^she-a, not per^-

zlie-a. Pesth — p£st, not pesth;

Hungarian pronunc?ation,

peslit. Piqua — pik^wa, not pik^wa. Pompeii — poin-pa^yee, not

p6ni'pe-i. Popocatapeti— po-po-kii-ta-

petK,not po-po-kut-a-pe^tel. Poughkeepsb — po-kip^'see,

not po-keep^see. Quebec — kwe-b6k^, not

kwe^bek. Queretaro — kfi-ra-ta^ro, not

k\ver-e-tr/ro. Sahara — sa-lia''ra or sii^ha-

rii, not sa-lia'ra nor sa-

liar^a. San Diego — siLn-de-a^go, not

san-di-c^o. Sangamon — s2,ng^ga-mon,

not sang-gam^on. San Joaquin — san-Ho-a-

keen'', not san^jo^a-kwTn. Shang-Hai — shang-hi^, not

shang^-ha nor shang^-hi. Slam— si-am'' or se-am'', not

si^'am.

Sumatra — soo-mil^tra, not s6o-ma^tra nor soo-mat^ra.

Swabia — swiVbi-a,not swaw^- be-a.

Taliaferro — t6Ke-ver, not tal-i-a-ler^ro.

Toulouse — too-looz^, not

tOO-loOriS^.

Truxillo — troo-HeeKyo, not

trux-iKlo. Tyrol — lir^l or te-r6K, not

ti^rol. Ulster (Germany) — (jSKster,

not uKster. Ulster (Ire- land and U. S.) — ul^ster. Valenciennes — vii-long-se-

enn^, not va-lCn-se-enz''. Valparaiso (Chili) — viil-pa-

ri^so, not val-pa-riVzo.

Valparaiso (U. S.) — val-

pa-ra^zo. Venezuela — ven-ez-wee^laor

va-n6th-wa^la, not ven-ez-

oo-e^la. Vevay — ve-va'', not ve^va Vosges — vozh. not vos^jez, Worcester — woos^ter, not as

spelled. Worcestershire

(w66s^ter-sliir). Wyandot or Wyandotte —

wi-an-dott^, not wi^an-

dot. Wyoming — wi-o^ming, not

■svi^o-ming. Yang-tse-kiang — yiing-tse-

ke-iing^, not yang^ste-ki''-

ang. Yo Semite— yo-semVte, not

yo^ se-mite. Zanzibar — zan-ze-bai/, not

zan''ze-bar.

ENGLISH CHEISTIAN NAMES.

Ada— aMa, not Sd''a. Agnes — ag^nez, not ag^ness. Alphonso — al-phon^so, not

al-pli6n^zo. Artemas— ar'te-mas, not iir-

te'^raas. Augustine — aw-giis^tin, not

aw^gus-teen. Basil — buz^il, not ba^sil nor

biVil. Bernard — be/nard, not ber-

nard^. Bernard (French)

— beR-naR^ Cecily — ses^i-ly, not se^si-ly. Chloe — klo^e, not klo. Darius — da-ri^us, not da^'ri-

us. Deborah — deb^o-rah, not

de-bo^rah. Eben— 6b^en, not e''ben. Eleanor — 6Ke-a-nor, not 61''-

en-or. Esther — Cs^ter, not 6s''ther. Eva — e^va, not 6v^a. Frances — frSn^sez, notfran^-

sess nor fran^'sls. Giles— jllz, not gilz. Hosea — ho-ze^a, not li6''se-a. Ivan— iv^'an, not i^van. Ivan

(Russian ) — e-viin''. Irene — i-re''ne, not i-reen''.

Jaqueline — jSq^'ue-lin, not

jak^a-llne. Joan— j6-an^, not jo^an. Joshua — ^jo.sl/u-a, not j6sh''-

a-wa. Leopold — leVp51d, not l^p''-

old. Leopold (German)

— la-o-polt. Lionel— li^'o-nel, not lI-o''nel. Louisa — loo-e^za, not loo-i''-

za. Marion — mjir^i-on, not ma''-

ri-on. Penelope — pe-n6Ko-pe, not

pen^el-ope. Phebe — plie^be, not pheeb. Philander— phi-lanMer, not

phil-an^der. Philemon — phi-le^mon, not

pliiKe-mon. Reginald — r6j''i-nald, not

reg^i-nald. Rosalie — r6z''a-le, not ro''-

za-le. Rosalind — r6z^a-lind, not

rd^za-lind. Rosamond — r6z^a-mond, not

ro^za-mond. Rowland— rd^land, notrow^-

land. Sigismund— slj^is-mund, not

(60)

Bimo^s OF st:efcit.

61

sig^;s-mund. Sigismund

r-.'';^

(German) — seeG'is- mSont. Silvester — sil-v6s^ter, not sil^v6s-ter.

Sophia — so-phI''a, not so'-

p!ii-a. Ursula — iir^su-la, not ur-su''- la. ' Viola — vi^o-la, not yi-o^la.

NAMES OFKOMANCE, SOBRIQUETS, ETC.

Achitophel — a-kitVphel, not u-chit^o-pliel. A nickname given to the Earl of Shaftesbury and used by Dry den in his satirical poem of " Absa- lom and Achitophel."

Adonais — ad-o-mVis, not a- do^ni-as nor a-don^i-as. A name given to the poet Keats by Shelley.

Adriana— ad-ri-an^a, not a- dri-:Vna nor a-dri-an^a. A character in the "Comedy of Errors."

^geon— e-je^on, not e^js-on. A Syracusan merchant in the " Comedy of Errors."

Emilia — e-mlKi-a, not e- me^li-a. Wife of ^geon in the "Comedy of Er- rors."

Ag ram ante — a-gra-miin^ta, not ag^ra-mant unless written Agramant. King of the Moors in " Orlando Furioso."

Agricane — ii-gre-ka''na, not Sg^ri-kane. Written also Agrican (ag^ri-kan). King of Tartary in " Orlando Innamorato."

A I Borak — iil b5r^ak, not

al bo''rak. An imaginary animal of wonderful ap- pearance and fleetness, with which it was claimed that Mohammed made a journey to the seventh heaven.

Alcina - ill-che^'na, not al-se''- na. A fairy in " Orlando Innamorato."

Alciphron — aKsi-phron, not al-sipl/ron. The name of a work by Bishop Berke- ley and of a character in the same. Alciphron is also the name of a poem by Thomas Moore and the hero of his romance, " The Epicurean."

Almanzor — al-man'zor, not al^man-zor. A character in Dryden's " Conquest of Granada."

A I Rakim — iir rli-keen/, not ill ra^kim. The dog in tlie legend of the " Seven Sleepers of Ephesus."

Al Sirat — as se-rat^, not aK si-rat. An imaginary bridge between this world and the Mohammedan paradise.

Angelica — an-jeFi-ka, not

(62)

i:n'RO^S OF STBECH.

63

an-jel-e^ka. A princess of , great beauty in '' Orlando Innamorato."

Angelo — an^je-lo, not an- j6i^o. A prominent char- acter in " Measure for Measure." A goldsmith in the *' Comedy of Er- rors."

Archimago — iir-ki-ma^go, not jir-chi-ma^go nor iir- chim^a-go. A character in Spenser's "Faery Queen"

Argalia — aR-gii-lee^ji, not iir-ga^li-a. Brother of. Angelica in " Orlando In- namorato."

Argantes — aR-giin^tess, not iir-gru/tez. An intidel hero in " Jerusalem De- livered."

Asmodeus — as-mo-de^us, not az-mo^de-us. An evil spirit.

Baba, A!i — ii^lee bii^bli, not ViV\ biVba. A character in the " Forty Thieves."

Baba, Cassim — kiis^'sim bii^ba, not kas^sim ba^ba. Brother of Ali Baba.

Bajardo — bii-e-aR^do, not ba-jiir^do. Rinaldo's steed in " Orlando Innamorato."

Balwhidder — baKhwith-er, not bawKwhid-der. A pastor in Gait's " Annals of the Parish."

Ban quo — bankVo, not bang^ko. A Scottish war- rior and a character in " Macbeth."

Bassanio — bas-sii^'ni-o, not bas-sa^ni-o. Husband of Portia in " Merchant of Venice."

Biron — bir''on, not bl^ron. A character in " Love's Labor's Lost."

Boyet-boy-et^, not bo^yet. A character in " Love's Labor's Lost."

Bradamante — bril-da-miin''- ta, not brad^a-mant. Sis- ter to Rinaldo, in " Or- lando Innamorato."

Brunehilde— broc/nii-hiKda, not brun-luKdah. Writ- ten also Brunehild (broo^- neh-hiltj.

Carrasco, Sanson — siin-son'' kiiR-Ras^ko, not san^son kar-ras^ko. A character in *'Don Quixote."

Cedric— sed^rik, not se^drik. A character in " Ivanhoe."

Clarchen — kleR^ken, not kliir^chen. A female character in Goethe's '"''Yi^- mont."

Clavileno Aligero — klii-ve- lan^yo ii-le-Ha^ro, not klav-i-le^no id-i-je^ro. A celebrated steed in " Don Quixote."

Consuelo — kong-su-a-lo'', not k6n-su-eKo. The hero- ine of a novel of tlie same name by Georges Sand.

Don Adriano Armado — ad- re-Ii^no iir-raaMo, not a- dri-a^no iir-mf/do. A

character in " Love's La- bor's Lost."

64

EHftO^S OF S^FFlCir^

Don Cleofas— kleVfas, not kle-6'fas. Hero of "The Devil on Two Sticks."

Don Juan— jiVan, notju-Jln''.

Dulcamara — doOl-kii-ma^ra, not dul-sa-ma^ra nor dul- ka-ma^ra. The itinerant physician in " L'Elisire d'Amore."

Egeus— e-je^us, not e^je-us. The Father of Hermia in " Midsummer Night's Dream."

Eyre, Jane — er, not ire.

Fata Morgana — fa^tii moR- gii^'nii, not fa^ta mor-gan^a.

Fatima — fat^i-ma, not fa-te^- ma. A female character in the story of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp ; also, one of the wives of Blue Beard.

Fidele — ii-de^le, not fi-dele^ A name assumed by Imo- gen, in " Cymbeline."

Fra Diavolo — frii de-ii^vo-lo, not frii de-ii-vo^'lo.

Genevra — je-neV'ra, not je- ne^vra. Ginevra is pro- nounced the same as the above.

Gil Bias — zhel blass, not jil blii nor jeel bliiz.

Gotham — go^tham, not gotl/am. A name applied to New York City.

Haidee- hi^dee, not ha^dee. One of the heroines in " Don Juan."

lachimo — yak^i-mo, not i- a,k^i-mo. A prominent character in " Cymbeline."

fago — e-a''go, noti-a'go. One of the principal charac- ters in "Othello."

Jacques — zhiik, not jak'' kwes. A character in "As You Like It."

Klaus, Peter — klowss, not klawz. The hero of a German tradition similar to that of " Kip Van Win- kle "

Lalla Rookh — lii^'la r5ok, not laKla r66k. The her- oine of Moore's poem of the same name.

Laodamia — la-Sd-a-m^a, not ia-o-da^mi-a. The Avife of Protesilaus slain by Hector, and the name of a poem by Wordsworth.

Lara — lii^ra, not hVra nor lar^a. The hero and name of Byron's poem.

Le Fevre— leh iev^r, not le fe^ver. A poor lieutenant in " Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy."

Leonato — le-o-na^to, not le- o-na^to. Governor of Mes- sina in " Much Ado About Nothing."

Mahu — ma-hoo'' or mii^hoo, not ma^hu. A fiend spoken of in "King Lear."

Maid of Orleans— or^le-anz, not 6r-lenz^. Another

name of Joan of Arc.

Meister, Wilhelm— viKhelm mis^ter, not wiriielm mes^ter. The hero of a novel by Goethe.

Mohicans, Last of the —

js ft nous OF steech:.

65

mo-he'kans, not mo-hish''- ans nor mo'he-kans.

Montague — mon^ta-gu, not mon-tag^. A noble family in "Romeo and Juliet."

Moreno, Don Antonio — iin- t5^ne-o rao-ra^no, not an- to^ne-o mo-re^no, A gen- tleman in " Don Quixote."

Munchausen — mun-chaw^- sen, not mun-kaw^sen. German, Miinclihausen (munK-how''zen).

Oberon — 6b^er-on, not 6^- ber-on. King of the fai- ries. Takes an important part in " Midsummer Kight's Dream."

Ossian— osh^an, notaw^si-an.

Parizade — pii-re-za^da, not par^i-zade^. A princess in *' Arabian Nights' Enter- tainments."

Parolles — pa-roKles, not pa- rolz''. A follower of Ber- tram in " All's Well That Ends Well." ^

Perdita — per^di-ta, not per- di^ta nor per-de^ta. A princess in " Winter's Tale."

Petruchio — pe-troo^chl-o. not pe-troo^ki-o. A prin- cipal character in " Tam- ing of the Shrew."

Pisanio — pl-za^'ni-o, not pi- sa'^ni-o. A character in " Cymbeline."

Posthumus — post'hu-miis, not post-hu^mils. Imo- gen's husband in "Cym- beline." 5

Ppospero — pr53''pe-ro, not pros-pe'ro. An important character in the " Tem- pest."

Rosalind — r6z^a-lind, not roz^a-lind. The lady loved by Orlando in " As You Like It."

Rosaline — rQz^a-lJn or r6z''a- lin, not roz^a-leen. A lady in "Love's Labor's Lost ; " also, the name of a lady loved ^by Eomeo before Juliet.

Rosamond, Fair — r6z^a- mond, not ro^za-mond.

Rozinante — r5z-i-nan^te, not ro-zi-nan^te. Don Quix- ote's famous horse.

Ruggiero — rood-ja^ro, not rug-gi-6r''o or ruj-ji-e^ro. A knight in " Orlando Furioso."

Sakhrat — saK-rii^, not sak^- rat. A sacred stone of great powers, in Moham- medan mythology."

Stephano — stef^a-no, not ste- fa^no, A drunken butler in " Tempest ; " also a ser- vant of Portia in " Mer- chant of Venice."

Titania — ti-ta^ni-a, not ti- tan'i-a. The wife of Ob- eron, king of the fai- ries.

Tybalt— tib^alt, not tl^balt. One of the Capulets in " Romeo and Juliet"

Ulrica — ul-ri^ka, not uKri- ka. An old sibyl in " Ivanhoe."

66

JEHnOHS OF STBUCH.

Ursula — ur''su-la, not iir- soo^la. An attendant in " Much Ado About Noth- ing."

Viola — vi^o-la, not vi-o^'la. The disguised page of Duke Orsino in " Twelfth Night."

OKTHOEPICAL ERRORS OF THE PRO- FESSIONS.

Although errors of speech are at all times to be deprecated, and are generally criticised without much leniency, it must be admitted that unless they are very gross, reasonable excuses are to be taken for those who have never made their language a subject of close study, and whose only use of words is en- tirely impromptu in the business affairs of life, in the home circle, or in the social gathering.

Though a person s de^^ceot from Belgravia or Bil- lingsgate is in a great measure revealed by the pro- priety of his discourse, yet this refers principally to those words that are employed by the masses in the every- day conversations of life, rather than to tech- nicalities and words related to particular professions, the use of which is generally confined to the spe- cially instructed. But when a man stands forth as an orator, a teacher, a minister, or a professor of some college, it is certainly not unreasonable for those that sit under his instruction, to expect and demand that his speech should be almost free from errors.

One occupying such a position may well be ex-

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68 JESJiOfiS OF STEECIT.

cused for occasional embarrassment, poor voice, un- pleasant address, hesitation of delivery, and various failings and peculiarities that can not be overcome, but little or no allowance can be made for constantly repeated errors.

Probably there has never been a public speaker so perfect in diction, that he has not in moments of embarrassment, or when much absorbed in his sub- ject, been guilty of grammatical inaccuracies or mis- takes of pronunciation ; and doubtless he is as often aware of them as his listeners are, as soon as they drop from his lips, but it would be foolish to call at- tention to them by going back to correct them. But when these offenses are so glaring and so frequently repeated that it is evident the speaker knows no bet- ter, it is no wonder that the educated hearer often thinks that the teacher had better leave his position and submit to being taught.

What allowance can an intelligent congregation make for their minister who has nothing else to do but prepare his sermons, if, besides a multitude of common English mistakes, he pronounces more than half of his scriptural names in a manner that is not sanctioned by any authority ?

When the orotund medical professor stands up to address his students, or to engage in the discussions of a convention, and rolls out technicality after teeh- Dicality pronounced in a manner that would be dis- owned by the original Latin or Greek, and is totally

xj^no^s OF stf:eci£. 69

at variance with established usage, who would not ask for a little less elegance and a little more educa- tion? If it required a great amount of labor outside of the usual course of study for professional men to acquire a knowledge of the pronunciation of words peculiar to the professions, the subject might be treated with more tolerance ; but as the definitions and the orthoepy might be so readily learned together during those years of daily reference to books that are required before one should be considered compe- tent to stand as a guide to others, it certainly seems that they do not properly appreciate the dignity of their position by thus laying themselves open to pub- lic criticism.

Many a student, in order to become instructed in certain branches, has been compelled to reluctantly sit for months or years at the feet of those that he felt were far inferior to him in common school edu- cation, hearing hourly such violations of orthoepy and syntax as would be a discredit to school chil- dren. And, doubtless, many such students have had such a charity for their teachers that they have wished to direct their attention to their faults, but have been restrained on account of the fear of en- mity, expulsion, or of lessening the chances for pass- ing the final examination.

The bare thought of being so criticised should be so galling to any one bearing the dignified title of "professor," that he ought to be stimulated to en-

70 Ennofts of stf^ecs,

deavor to make himself an authority concerning the proprieties of speech.

The study ol' orthoepy was held in such high es- teem by the ancient Greeks, and their delicate ears were so oflfended by any violation of its rules, that if an orator mispronounced a single word, the entire audience immediately hissed him.

During the present state of pronunciation it would indeed be embarrassing to the public speaker, if such a custom existed in this country. Let us imagine, for instance, our friend Professor Abdominous Gynae- cophonus, with his face ebullient with smiles of self-conceit, arising to address such an audience. "Gentlemen: I have listened patiently to this op'- po-nent {hisses) of al'lo-path-y (^hisses) and now arise to make a few remarks and in'quir-ies (hisses). In answer to his objections against hy-os-cy-a'mus (^hisses) as an anodyne and so'por-if-ic, (hisses) I \vould say that in cases of cough and sleeplessness, I have long used hyoscyamia combined in tro'chez (hisses) without any of those effects that the pat'ron (hisses) of ho'me-o-path-y (hisses) mentions. And having made almost a specialty of the treatment of fa^'i-al (hisses) neuralgia or tic-dul-o-roo' " (hisses) — and it would certainly be time for him to dolorously sit down, although he might raise the question—

" What's in a name ? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet,"

EH-Ro^s or si^AECH, 71

and argue therefrom that the pronunciation of a word should make no difference so long: as its meaning: was understood. Amongst professional men, it has been observed that ph^^sicians and dentists are by far more prone than others to orthoepical errors. Attention is requested to a few of the more common of these in addition to those found in the preceding vocabu- lary connected with words that are alike used by the professionai and the unprofessional, such as : abdo- men, acclimated^ albumen, animalcula, arable, citrate^ embryo, excrescence, fetid, fetor, forceps, homeopathy, hydropathy, jugular, jujube, nasal, pharmacopoeia, pu- rulent, spasmodic, sulphurous, tragacanth, etc. The authorities appealed to are Dunglison, Thomas, AYeb- ster and Worcester. Notwithstanding the superior merit of Dunglison 's Medical Dictionary, as far as the comprehensiveness and reliability of its definitions are concerned, it is evident that it is almost useless as an orthoepical guide. The principal accent is in many cases marked, but the pronunciation of pre- ceding and succeeding syllables can not be deter- mined, and there is no attempt at syllabication.

Dr. Thomas' dictionary, though less comprehen- sive, is equally reliable in its definitions, and is ex- cellent authority in regard to orthoepy ; though it is to be regretted that in some words important syl- lables are not sufficiently marked. For instance, take the words as-bes'tos and bis'muth; how can it be determined whether th§ first should be pro-

72 ^^soss OT s^i::Ecsr,

nounced as-bes'toss or az-bes'toz, or the latter "biz'- mutli or biss'muth ? Webster and Worcester are undoubtedly good autborities for the proDunclation of the medical words they give. In the following vocabulary all of the authorities that mention the words may be considered as agreeing, unless notice is made of their disagreement.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL WOKDS.

[In Latin and Latinized Greek words, the English sounds of the row- els are given as those used by the majority of profosslonal men. If any one, however, prefers to adopt the continental raelhud, sounding a as in father, y and i as e in veto, etc., and consistently applies it to all such words, no one, of course, has a right to object.]

Adipose — S,d''i-p5se, not ad''- i-p6ze.

Ala — a^la, not aKa. Alse, plural.

Alis — a^llS not aKis. This as a termination of many

, word.g, such as abdomina- lis, digitalis, frontalis, lachrymalis, transversa- lis, etc., is often errone- ously pronounced aKis.

Alumen — al-u^men, not aK- u-men.

Alveolus — al-ve''o-lu3, not al-ve-6^1us. Plural, alve- oli (al-ve^o-li). Alveolar — (al-ve^o-lar). Alveolus is the name given to the cavity in the jaw that is seen upon the removal of the root of a tooth, and it possesses no more tangibil- ity than a pinch of air ; almost daily, however, we hear dentists speak of ex- tracting a tooth with a piece of the alveolus attached.

What a curiosity for preser- vation in a museum is a tooth with a piece of a little hole fastened to the root I What is meant is a piece of the alveolar process, or portion of bone around the alveolus.

Anaemic — a-n6m^ik, not a- ne^mik. Dunglison gives the latter.

Andral — 6ng-draK, not an''- dral.

Aphthae — af^the, not ap'the.

Aqua — a^kwa, not ak^wa.

Arcus Senilis — se-ni^lis, not s6n'i-lis.

Areolar — a-re^'o-lar, not a- re-o^lar.

Aris — a''ris, not ar^is in the termination of angularis, medullaris, palmaris, or- bicularis, pulmonaris, etc.

Asa rum — as^a-rum, not a- sa^rum.

Asbestos — as-b6s''t6ss, not az-bgs^'toz.

(73)

74

Sn^OnS OF S^EECJg.

Attollens — at-t5Klenz, not

ac-to'ien?. Azygos -az^y-gos, not a-zy''-

gos. Bagga — bag^geh, not ba,g. Bimana — bi-imVna, not bi-

ma^ni-a. Bismuth — blz^muth, not

bi.ss^muth. Bitumen — bt-tu^-men, not

l)it''u-men Cadaver — ka-da^ver, not

ka-dav^er. Caries — ka^ri-ez, not ka^rez

nor kar^rez. Carminative — kar-min''a-

tive, not kar'mi-na-tive. Caryophillus — kar-I-o-phiK-

liis, not kilr-i-6ph''il-las. Cerebral — s6r^e-bral, not

ser-e'bral. Cerebric — s6r''e-bric, not

ser-e^bric. Cerebrum — sSr^e-brnm, not

ser-e^brum. Dunglison

gives both. Cerumen — se-ru^men, not

ser^ii-men. Cheyne — chan or cheen, not

sbane. Choledochus— ko-l6d^o-kus,

not k61-e-do^kus nor ko-

lld^a-kus. Cicatrix — si-ka^trix, not

sik^a-trix nor si-kat^rix.

Plural, cicatrices (sik^a-

trr.sez), not si-kat^ri-sez. Cimicifuga — siui-i-sif^u-ga,

not sim-i-si-lu^ga nor sim-

is^i-lu^ga. Cochlea — k6k^le-a, not kok^-

le-a.

Conein — ko-ne^in, not ko''-

ne-in. Conium — ko-ni^um, not ko^-

ni-uiu. Cranium — kriVni-um, not

krui/i-um. Cynanche — sl-nin^ke, not

si-nan'che. Diastase— dras-tase, not dl-

as^taze. Diastole — di-as^to-le, not

dl^as-tole. Diploe — dip^lo-e, not dip-

16'e. Dulcamara — dnl-ka-ma^ra,

not dul-sa-mcVra, Web- ster gives dul-kain'a-ra

also. Duodenum — du-o-de'num,

not du-5d''e-num. Dyspncea — disp-ne^a, not

dis-ne'a. Emesis — 6m''e-sis, not em-e''-

sis. Epiploon — e-pip^lo-on, not

ep-ip-io^'on. Facial — fa^shal, not fUsl/i-al. Foramen — fo-ra^men, not

fo-r3,iu^en. Fungi — fnn^ji, not fun^gi.

Plural of fungus. Galbanum— gaKba-num, not

gal-ba^num. Gingiva— jin-ji^va, not jin'-

ji-va. Glenoid — gle^'noid, not

glgu^oid. Glut2eus — glu^'tse-us, accord- ing to Webster. The rest

give glu-tae^us. Helleborus — hel-l6b^o-ru3,

not hel-le-b5''rus.

EiiftO^S OF ST^EECH^.

75

Hyoscyamus — hi-o?-si^a-

mus, not hi-os-sy-ain^us nor hi-os-sy-a''mus. Hv- oscyamine (hi-os-si a- min). Impetigo — im-pe-trgo, not iin-pei^i-go.

Incisive — iu-si^siv, not in- sis^ive.

Iodoform —i-5d^o-form, not i-o^do-foriii. Dunglison gives i^o-do-form.

Itis. According to Webster and Worcester this ter- mination is pronounced Ttis in bronchitis, pleuri- tis, gastritis, etc. Tliomas and Dunglison do not spec- ify, but tlie inference is that they intend the same. It is, however, so general- ly pronounced e^tis, that many would object to the attention attracted by call- ing it i^tis.

Jejunum — je-ju^num, not j6j^u-nura.

Juniperus— ju-nip^e-rus, not ju^ni-per-us nor ju-ni-pe^- rus.

Laudanum — law''da-num, not I6d^a-nura.

Lentigo — len-ti^go, not l6n^- ti-go.

Lepra — Igp^ra, not le^pra. Dunglison gives the lat- ter.

Leuwenhoek — 165^en-h66k or lul/wen-h66k (u as in fur), not loc'/wen-hoke.

Levator — le-va^tor, not le- v5,t^or.

Liquor (Latin) — ll^kwor, not

lik^ur as in English. Magendie — ma-zli6ng-de^,

not ma-jen^de. Mah'c — ma^lic, not maKic.

Tliomas gives the latter. Matrix — ma^trix, not mat^-

rix. Mistura — mis-tu^ra, not mis''-

tu-ra. Molecule — m6Ke-kiile, not

mo^le-kiile. Moliities — mol-Iish^i-ez, not

m(3l^lI-Lez. Molybdenum — m61-ib-de''-

num, not mo-lib^de-num. Nasmyth — na^smith, not

naz'mith. Nicolai— nee^ko-li, not nik^-

o-la. Nucleolus — nu-kle^o-lus, not

nukle-o^lus. Oris — o^ris, not 6r^is. Ovale — o-va^le, not o-vaKe. PanizzI — pii-nit^see or pa-

net^see, not pan-iz^zy. Pepys— peps, not pe^pis nor

pgp^is. Pes Anserinus— pez an-ser-

i^nus, not p6z an-s6r^i-nus.

I once heard a professor

describing the facial nerve

to his class, and he dwelt

upon this plexus for some

time, calling it the " Pons

Asinorum." Podagra — p6d^a-gra, not

po-da^gra. Worcester gives

po-dag^ra also. Podophyllum — p6d-o-phyK-

lum, not po-d6ph''yl-

lum.

76

EnftOltS OF STJEECS.

Process— pr5s''ess, not pro''-

sess. Prostate — pros^'tate, not

pr5-;^trrite. Purkinje — pS5R^kin-yeh or

p56r^kin, not pur-kin'-

Pylorus — pi-lo'rus, not pl-

lor^as, Pyrethrum — pirVthrum,

not pi-re^thriim. Quadrumana — quad-ru^raa-

na, not quad-ru-ma^

nia. Rubeola — ru-be''o-la, not ru-

be-o^la. Sacrum— 8a''krum, not s3,k^-

rum. Sagittal — sSj^It-tal, not sa-

jit^tal. Dunglison gives

the latter. Sanies — sa^ni-ez, not sa''nez

nor siln^ez. Scabies — sca''bl-ez, not scab'-

ez nor sca^bez. Seidlitz — sid^Jttz, not s6d^-

lltz, unless spelled Sedlitz. Sinapis — si-na^pis, not sin''a-

pis.

Squamous — skwa^'mus, not

akwaw^mus. Systole — sls^to-le, not sis^-

tolt. Tinctura — tinc-tu^ra, not

tinct^ii-ra. Titanium — ti-ta''ni-um, not

ti-tan^'i-um. Trachea — tra-ke^a or tra^-

ke-a, not track^e-a. Tremor — tre^mor, not trgm''-

or. Webster allows the

latter also. Trismus — triss^'mus, not

triz^mus. Umbilicus — um-bi-ll^kus,

according to Worcester,

Thomas and Dunglison.

Webster gives um-biKi-

kus. Variola— va-rl^o-la, not va-

ri-o'la. Veratrum — ve-ra^trum, not

ve-r3,t^rum. Vertebral — vSr^te-bral, not

ver-le^bral. Virchow — fir^ko, not viV-

chow nor viVkow. Zlnci — zin^si, not zink^'i.

SENTENCES FOR PRACTICE.

The following extract is from the letter of a friend, to whom were sent some of the advance pages of this work : *' I am absolutely filled with astonishment to see how many simple words I have been mispronouncing all my life, and would have kept on mispronouncing to the end of my days if my thoughts had not been directed to them. If I were in your place I would end the book with a story in which all the words would be used in the course of the narrative. I can imagine no amusement more instructive or interesting than for a social party to read in turns, under some penalty for each mistake."

I had myself conceived the idea of presenting the words untrammeled with explanation of the orthoepy, or marks of accent ; but the form was not decided upon.

The effort to compose a narrative was abandoned after a fair trial; for to have a plot and also bring the words in nat- ural position would require a large volume ; otherwise, it made senseless jumble. In the trial sentences given the ob- jects are gained in small space. Those objects are to allow readers to exercise the memory and test their friends ; and at the same time to use the words syntactically. It is hoped that the reader will pardon any absurdities of context ; as they can not be avoided where one is compelled to use so many selected words, and is obliged to force them into a small compass.

(77)

MELANGE.

The invalid came from Bremen to America and hoped to be soon acclimated, but was stricken down with a disease that was not amenable to treatment, although he had many physicians : allopathlsts^ hy- dropathists and homeopafhtsfs. He said that the aim of allopathy was to poison him ; of liydropathy to drown him ; and of homeopathy to let him die un- aided.

One of the combatants struck his opponent in the abdomen with a club, cut off an alder tree ; he was carried under the shade of an ailantus and immedi- ately expired.

Sophia found the egg under a, piony near the shu- mac tree; but she broke it in carrying, and spilled the albumen all over her alpaca dress.

The dose for an adult is a dessert -spoonfuh

It was a plain supper — nothing but aerated bread, Bologna sausage and radishes.

He told his demonstrative disputant that he did not wish to get into an altercation, but it only appeared to arouse his combativeness still more.

(78)

JUltJtOftS OF STEECBT. 79

Why do you accent the antepenult of es})ionagef He illustrated his proposition by cutting oflF the apex of the figure, and then exhibited his apparatus for the production of statical electricity.

Two-thirds gum-arahic and one-third gum-traga- canth make a good mucilage.

The archbishop dreamed that an archangel came to him and told him to have his architect send to an isl- and in the Grecian Archipelago for white marble for the pilasters.

Search the archives of history and you will not find another such prodigy as Admirable Crichton,

When, after traversing the ocean, you find yourself in the arid desert of Sahara, where there is no aro- ma of sweet flowers, or anything at all to regale your exhausted energies ; where there is no herb nor herbaceous plant near you ; where you are almost famished for want of some potable fluid ; where you are in constant fear of being harassed by truculent nomads — then will you realize that there are no joys comparable to those that exist around the hearth' stone of your humble home.

When the contents of the museum were sold by auction, the antiquary bought a roll o? papyrus filled with hieroglyphics^ a kind of bellows used by the an- cients for starting their fires, and a fine collection of trilobites.

80 EH^OHS OF S^EECS^^

The attempt at a reconnoisance in force had been unsuccessful ; immediately after reveille^ the com- mander of the fortress put it to vote amongst his of- ficers, whether or not they should surrender. The ai/es carried it, although some veliementJy opposed on account of the excellent morale of the garrison.

The heroine of the melodrama sent to her betrothed Seignior an exquisite louquef, composed of catalpa flowers, dahlias^ mai'igold and thyme, and prayed his forgiveness for not allowing him the promised tete-d- tete at the trysling place ; she had been suffering with the tic-douloureux, she said. He generously forgave her and sent her a sonnet, in which he said that her voice was sweeter than that of Piccolomini, or any other cantatrice ; that no houri could be more beau- tiful than she ; he called her a fair Jlorist, and after extolling her naivete, roseate cheeks and nymphean graces, he swore eternal homage and that he would love her forever and for aye.

The judge hade the desperado cease his badinage and answer his inquiries, and threatened that if he did not, he would punish him for his contumacy.

The vicar was one of the notable men of his day; his wife was a pattern of industry, a notable house- keeper. While the birds were chirping their matin song, she might be seen with her besom in her hand.

Is this a bona fide transaction, or is it a Machia-

JSHliOn.S OF S'PEFCIT. 81

velian attempt to inveigle the prelate into an im- broglio 9

A hooth was erected at the fair where the pretty Misses Agnes and Rosalind with much complaisance dispensed gratis to the visitors, soda-water flavored with orgeat or sarsaparilla.

General Silvester and his prof^g^, Reginald, met with a casualty that nearly cost them their lives. The horses attached to their Brougham became frightened at a yacht and made a tremendous leap over a high embankment into a creeh.

At the zoological garden was found nearly every animal extant^ from a mouse to a camelopard.

The rendezvous of the topographical surveyors was at the camp of some hunters on a knoll near the banks of a canon.

The monk concealed his features with his capoch and would have been ir recognizable if his discourse had not betrayed him.

The etagere stands cater -cornered in a recess and contains many beautiful ornaments that his predeces- sor gathered within the last decade of years; amongst which may be mentioned the heads of Beethoven, B^ranger, Goethe, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and many other celebrities, cut in onyx. 6

82 EftHO'RS Oj^ Sf^EECff.

The Caucasian races obtained their name on ac- count of originating near Mount Caucasus.

The mischievous children got cayenne all over their chaps, by which they were sufficiently punished without any further chastening.

The chivalric Don Quixote, having become a monomaniac on the subject of chivalry, bestrode his Rosinante, and, attended by his squire, started out to perform chivalrous deeds.

Lord C. has been absent since February, 1870 ; it is said that he has been traveling incognito, but it is certain that in Italy he has retained his cognomen. He is now at Modena awaiting the recovery of his Cicerone, when he intends to visit Genoa and Milan,

The obesity of the /?o?*zc?- faced prebendary is ob- served to increase with his prebend.

I have heard much of the gamins of Gotham, but I never realized what the ^a/^ot<;s-deserving rascals were till I settled in New York City. I opened busi- ness as 3i pharmaceutist on a corner that was a favor- ite haunt of theirs. Sul-1i a crowd of tatterdemal- ions as stood in front of my show-window the first day I made my display of Parisian fancy goods, baf- fles description. One had the hooping cough, and every now and then would hoop till the perspiration rolled down liis face; then he would shriek out the daily newspapers, in a voice like a calliope. One

Ennons OF s^becb^. ^3

dirty-faced gourmand site papaws till he had to ^ape for breath, and would shoot the seeds and throw the skins at his hundred comrades, half of them coaiiug in my front door. Another, dressed in ragged jean, his face covered with soot, played the Jew's- harp hour after hour, with as much pride in his ability as Paga- nini at his violin. Another, a tall, jaundice visaged youth with an cmhryo beard of about a dozen hairs, covered nearly to his heels with his great-grandfa- ther's surlout, in the lapel of which was pinned a death's-head, danced upon the iron cellar door till it roared like distant artillery.

Then there were many other ^^ partners ^^ bearing such sobriquets as " Sore Snoot," " Pig Eye," " Lim- py," etc., improvising irrational songs, boxing, wrestling, indulging in raillery and ribald jests, pitching quoits, meawing like cats, howling at my 'patrons and driving reputable patronage away. Every now and then they would send in little, saucy, pre- cocious urchins, who offered to patronize me by asking for two cents' worth of jujube paste, tolu or licorice^ or some Samaritan salve for Jim Biles' sore nose. At last, when the sun had reached the horizon, as a finale of the day's progress, one of the young villains hurled a bowlder through my French plate-glass, which, after its flight through a lot of citrate of mag- nesia, cochineal and quinine, finally spilled a large bottle of red ink all over my new pharmacopoeia . Springing over the debris, I rushed to the door with

84 £:nnons of sTEEcn.

iniplacable anger flashing from my eyes. But one gliDce at that iinperturhahh crowd showed me how impotent I was. One of them with phicld counte- nance and stolid iudiflference simply accosted me with, " Say, Mister, are you going to see the ' J^aiad Queen 'to-night? "

I left that store in less than a fortnight.

The comptroller was appointed by the government upon the supposition that he was conversant with the details o^ finance; bat he was only a m-idiocre finan- cier and was not aware of the deficit in the finances^ until the conscience-stricken defalcating officer ac- knowledged his defalcation.

The emigrants to the frontier chose a beautiful spot for their settlement; but they found that the wells dug there and oa the contiguous praines had a saline taste ; so they were obliged to bring water from the mountainous region beyond, by means of a conduit.

From the congeries presented to the professor, he, at his leisure, isolated each genus and gave generic names to each ; and at the next meeting of the Igce- um he solicited attention to his data and the truths he had deduced.

The handsome contour of Madame Gr's face has been spoiled by an excrescence like a raspberry on her nasal organ.

EnnO^S OF STEECIT. 85

Young Philemon after reading Lalla Roohh, La- ra^ Don Juan^ The Giaour^ the productions of Mrs. Hemans, and a few others, was seized with the deter- mination to become a poet ; but he has only succeed- ed in becoming a poetaster, without any ideas o? pros- ody. More metrical excellence and sense can be found in the distich:

" Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? "

than in any of the products of his brain that he has given us. His brothers, Eben and Philander, have become stage-struck, and expect to excel in the Pro- tean art. Their guardian, himself a great lover of drama, having foolish confidence in their success, grants them plenary indulgence in all their whims. They are habitues of the theatre, and have fitted up a suite of apartments next to a suit of rooms occu- pied by some stock actors, with whom they are bound in indissoluble bonds of friendship. There they spend the day in practice, and if you should call at any hour, there is no telling what will present itself to you. Perhaps Macbeth with the glamour of his eyes, viewing the imaginary gouts of blood ; or Ban- quo with his gory locks ; or some knight with his cuirass on and his visor down, plunging, without a qualm, his carmine-stained poniard into the jugular of some patriot. Possibly, Othello the Moor, King John with the Magna Charta, or a legendary warrior of frightful mien with his falchion drawn, will admit

86 JEnnOfiS OF SPEECH.

you. Or you may see a viscount -^'xih falcon^ a ramp- crif villain, a jocund host, or an irate, splenetic old man with spectacles, pronouncing with senile vehe- mence a curse upon some fragile female in negligee before him, who beseeches the aid of an immohile statue in a niche in the wall. You may get there in the nick of time to save Desdemona by an expose of lago's villainy, Xf> rescue Pythias whom Damon holds by the nape of the neck on the threshold of eternity, or to restrain the suicidal design of the Mon'ague by informing him that the fair Capulet is only under the influence of a soporific — not dead. You nny arrive soon enough to arouse the womanhood in the docile Kate, making her less docible, and talk woman's rights to Petruchio, making him more lenient.

And you will find the guardian of these promis- ing youths, sitting there all day shouting encore to their absurdities, and not rational enough to see his indiscretion in permitting their frivol if i/.

The ennui, recently complained of, was relieved by an invitation to a party given by the Mtsdamcs B., the same you met at the conversazione of the church guild The ladies received their guests with their usual suavity. Their niece, Rosamond, recently from Madrid, was the attraction of the eveniug; she wore an elegant moire antique with a profusion of Valen- ciennes ; she had a beautiful set of jewelry — opal and diamonds. It was marvelous how her tiny hands flew over the pianoforte. Slie sings very sweetly

^fi^O'RS OF STEECIl. 87

too ; her voice is a sort of mezzo-soprano. Tlic nu'ive Miss Ursula was present, nearly smothered in black silk and guipure. She looks much prettier in dishabille. The little piquant Miss Irene, with her plaited hair, sang with a voice like a paroquet her favorite, " Tassels on the Boots." That disgusting youug Leopold was there, feeling as important as a Rothschild, making his salams, and palavering sotto voce to all the girls, circulating his monogram cards and sporting his paste pin with its dazzling facets. He thinks he cuts a wide swath.

Late in the evening those that were fond of Te.rp- sichorean amusement were ushered into a room where the tapestry was covered and there spent several hours in minuets, waltzes quadrilles, etc.

Tiie topics of conversation amongst the more sen- sible during the evening were the object of the visit of the new pre/a/e, and the recent speeches of Dis- raeli and Thiers.

Madame B. caused a good deal of merriment bj describing an improvement in her cuisine that had been introduced that day. Bridget, a late importa- tion from Belfast, who had charge of the culinary department, was told to send for some vermicelli to put in the soup, but she ordered spermaceti instead.

There was an old superstition that when the sac- ristan caused the bell in the cupola to toll its dolor- ous funeral notes, the manes of former friends joined

88 E^HonS OF ST'BECM.

in the solemn cortege^ and gathering around the grave moved their lips in inaudible requiem^ and wrote in invisible letters upon the tomb, omega.

The great desideratum in the successful argument of disputable points, is the possession of an equable temper.

A7pho7iso, while out hunting partridges, fell into a slough. Being clothed only in nainsook, he took a severe cold, which soon resulted in febrile symptoms.

Dr. Mastiffs posthumous monograph on " Rabies " will soon appear. The /ro^i^is^i'ece represents a group of dogs. Next to thepre/ace is a memoir of the au- thor. It was his own design to have " Finis " placed upon a cut of a tombstone. It almost seems that he had a presentiment of his death.

Suffice it to say that the dentist gave the patient enough letheon to produce unconsciousness, and then applied h.\s forceps to the oflfending tooth. Letheon, accented on the first syllable, and lethean are derived from Lethe, the name of a river described in mythol- ogy, a draught from which caused forgetfulness.

Sulphurous acid is gaseous, not liquid.

It is reported in the Pall Mall Gazette that Basil S., whom you met several years ago at Leipsic, is dead. He lived the life of a roue for some years in Paris and London, and turned out to be a most per- fidious villain. In the latter city lie committed

EH^OiiS OF STEEC7T. 89

many lieinous offenses and acts of subtle knavery that were almost without precedent. He was engaged for a long time in the manufacture of spurious nione^ by a new process, in which dies were taken from gutta- percha impressions. He had purchased the services of an experienced professor of metallurgy, and the produce of their crime would have been immense, if some of his other crimes had not been betrayed. Placards, offering a large reward for his arrest, were posted all over the city. He fled to Venice where he was soon afterward drowned by falling from a gondola, thus cheating the gibbet of its dues.

The foolish lover, Ivan, rendered desperate be- cause his rival Darius had gained the precedence in Marion s esteem, resolved to commit suicide and rushed toward the quai/ and plunged into the water. Some fishermen rescued him with their seine, poured some potheen down his throat, and carried him home on a piece of tarpaulin. His sousing cured him of his folly, but was a poor guerdon for his faithfulness.

The Saracens, taking advantage of the strategic point, made a sudden dash into the territory of the usurper ; while a detachment houghed the horses of the enemy's cavalry, the rest proceeded on a preda- tory raid characterized by rapine and terior, and af- ter the spoliation of the villages, and the burning of the granaries, returned to their own possessions.

Lionel, prejudiced against the world on account

90 Enno^fi or s-peecii,

of onerous cares, concluded to make a sacrifice of his wealth and position and become a recluse. His little hovel on the heather, whitened with lime which he himself slaked, and the little flower garden redolent of spring, present a strange contrast with his former mansion and magnificent grounds.

Eoa answered the inquiry of the French gentle- man, *' Parlez-vous fran§ais ? " with a "Qui;" but when she came to converse with him, he understood about as much of her jpatois as he did of Hindoo- stanee.

There is a fabulous report tbat the upas tree ex- hales a subtile vapor that is fatal to aoiinal life.

Since Joshuah.^^ obtained his lucrative sinecure, he ppends his time in riding about in his i^haeton and readinoj romances. He is loth to acknowledge that he was ever a plebeian and did all kinds of servile work. He is confident that his genealogy, if known, would show that he was unto a manor born, and that some supposititious child robbed him of his rights.

The knight dropped his wassail cup and sprang to the assistance of the ladies. " Gramercy,'' quoth they, simultaneously.

The veterinary physician said that the disease was murrain.

An infinitesimal quantity of yeast excited the fer- mentation.

iinnons OF sfi^Bcii. 91

Augustine studied microscopy just long enough to learn that a monad is one of the simplest kind of minute animalcules; he then tried chemistry and mineralogy^ but he could not master the nomencla- ture; he then took a fancy for telegraphy, but soon abandoned the idea of becoming a telegraphist. At lust accounts, he apprenticed himself to a druggist, but was told to vamos soon after making up a lot of Scidlitz powders with oxalic instead of tartaric acid.

Artemas his applied for a patent on an improved turbine wheel.

Mr. B., recollecting the precedent services of his servant, advanced him money enough to lift the lieu on his dwelling.

The lithographer had only a poor melanofype to copy from, but he succeeded in making an excellent print.

'• Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing^^^ is found in the sixth verse of the fifth psalm.

At the examination in orthoepjy, Deborah had the following words given to her : contumely, crinoline, feudal, fetid, fetor, gerund, gneiss, gyrfalcon, Tiarem, Hawaiian, hygiene, lariat, leverage, nonillion, obliga- tory, platina, platinum,, psalmody , psychical, purulent^ pyrites, recherche, resume, sacerdotal^ sacrament^ schism., shekel, stearine and troches.

92 :E^nOftS OF STF^JSCS.

The objective, me, is often erroneously used instead of the nominative^ I, in answer to the question — "Who is there?"

In the dramatis personce of '' Midsummer Night's Dream," Oheron and Titania^ kiug ^ud queen of the fairies, are introduced.

At the examination in geography, Ada was re- quired to draw a map of Asia, which would have been well done, if she had not drawn Persia, Af- ghanistan and Beloochistan nearly twice their prop- er size. She was then asked to give the location and length of the Altai and Vosges mountains, and the height of their principal peaks ; a description of the Aral^ Adriatic and Caribbean seas ; the course and length of the Amoor and Yaiig-tse-hiang ; and the location and population of Valparaiso {Chili), Ban- tam, {Java), Norivich, (Eng.), Pesth, Quebec, Val- enciennes, Neufchatel, Nantes and Aix-la- Chapelle.

Her sister, Frances, was told to draw maps of Bue- nos Ayres and Otaheite, and to bound Venezuela and Arkansas ; to give the length and direction of the Araguaij, Juniata, Kankakee, Barbados and San Joaquin; the location of Cape Agulhas; the situa- tion and population of Bingen, Calais, Canton, Aca- pulco, Chuquisaca, Delhi, Dubuque, Jeddo, Quere- taro, Truxillo, Leicester and Vevay, and a description of Sumatra, Zanzibar, Barbadoes and the Antilles.

Sigismund has just returned from YosemiteYoWQj,

m^'ROnS OF STEECTl. 93

Cecily, Cliloe and Viola have just passed their examination in biography. The names presented to them were the following : N. S. Adam (Fr.), G. Adam (Ger.), Beatrice Cenci, Bfucher, Boccaccio, Anne Boleyn, Marco Bozzaris, Joseph Buonaparte, D' Auhigni, Dauhlgny, Drouyn de Lhnya, JiiareZj Lavater, Marat, Marion, Catherine de Medici, Moul- trie, Ovid, Pliny, Ponce de Leon and Richelieu.

l^^-k-x*-^^

VIOLATED RULES OF GRAMMAR

Many, who claim to be good grammarians, are oc- casionally guilty of the violation of certain impor- tant rules. Attention is solicited to a few of the more common errors of this nature.

NUMBER.

Certain compounds change the form of the first word in plurali^ing, as : court-martial, brother -in-law, sister-in-law. Plural, courts-martial, hrothcrs-in-law^ etc. "John has three brother-in-laws," then, is in- correct.

But tea-spoonful, tahle-spoonful, cupful, pocketful, etc., are not considered such compounds ; therefore, "two tea-spoonsCul of medicine" and "two-cupsful of flour," should be, " two tea-spoonfuls of medicine," and " two cupfuls of flour."

94 Jiimons OF speech:.

When name and title are given, with a numeral adjective prefixed, the navixe is pluralized. " Are the two Misses Wilson at home? " should be, "Are the two Miss Wilsons at home ? " But when the nu- meral is omitted the title must be pluralized. "Were the Dr. Browns there ? " should be, " Were the Drs. Brown there ? " The rule has been given that the name only of married ladies is pluralized, bat there appears to be no reason except that of eu- phony : the Mrs. Clarks certainly sounds more agree- ably than the Mistresses Clark. Iq giving the plu- ral of such titles as: Hon.., Rev.., Squire and Capt.^ euphony is also often considered ; but in such cases it would doubtless be better to add the numeral, as : the three Hon. Jachsons.

EACH OTHER — ONE ANOTHER.

Each other applies to two ; one another to more than two. " The three witnesses contradicted each other," and " the two men accused one another," are incorrect.

NEITHER, NOT — NOR.-

JVeither and not are followed by nor, not or. "Neither James or Charles will come," and "it is not white or black," are incorrect.

TO BE, UNITING WORDS. Words united by to he, referring to the same per- son, must be of the same case.

"It is me/' "It may have beeu him," " It could

:EnnOliS OF STEJECJT. 95

not be her," and '' It was not them," are not correct: I'f, in each of the sentences, is nominaiive crid the other pronouns should be i, /te, she and the>j. 'I took it to be he," and " I understood it to be they," are also wrong ; for it is objective in both instances, and the following pronouns should be him and them.

THAN, AS.

Than and as implying comparison, have the same case after as before. '* He loses more than me," "John knows more than him" and "James is not so tall as her," should be, " He loses more than I " (lose), "John knows more than he" (knows) and '■ James is not so tall as she " (is tall).

WHO.

Errors connected with the use of this word are very common, even amongst good speakers.

" Who did you see ? " " Who do you know? " and " Who did you hear ? " are wrong : whom should be used, for it is the object of the transitive verbs, see, know and hear. Who in such sentences as : " Who are you looking at?" and "Who are you writing to?" should likewise be changed into ivhom, for it is the object of the prepositions at and to.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.

Adjectives are often erroneously used for adverbs in sentences like the following: " This is an uncom- mon good portrait," "It is a miserable poor paint-

V

96 E ft It on S or STB ECS.

ing." Uncommonly good and miserably jpoor are right.

Adverbs are still more commonly used for adjec- tives. '• Mary looked heautifulhj at the party," and " Janauschek looked majestically on the stage," are incorrect, for it is intended to describe the appear- ance of Mary and Janauschek, not their manner of looking ; therefore the adjectives beautiful and ma- jestic should be used.

When two objects are compared, the comparative degree should be used. " William is the heaviest of the two," and " Which is the most desirable — health or wealth ? " ought to be, " William is the heavier of the two," and " Which is the more desirable — health or wealth ? "

THESE, THOSE.

The plural demonstratives these and tliose are often erroneously used with singular nouns, a§ : "I don't like these kind of people," and " Those sort of things are very embarrassing." Kind and sort are singular and should have this and that.

INTO.

Into^ not in, is used to show the relation between verbs expressing motion, entrance, change of state, etc., and an objective case, as: "Come into the house," "Step into the carriage," and "Look into the room."

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