The French genders taught in six fables [microform] : being a plain and easy art of memory, by which the genders of 15,548 French nouns may be learned in a few hours

Having carefully read this little Book, I can
recommend it to all learning the French lan-
guage, as not only generally useful, but as the
best assistance to obtam a speedy knowledge
of the Genders, always considered one of the
most difficult parts of the French language.

Professor.
McGiLL College,
Sept. 23, 1859. ■' '\:-;'^M:. ■-'''''''' ':'■'.""/

FRENCH GENDERS

TAUGHT IN

SIX FABLES:

BEING A

PLAIN AND EASY

ART OF MEMORY,

BY WHICH THE GENDERS OP

15,548

FRENCH NOUNS

MAY BE LEARNED IN A EISW HOURS.

EE-PEINTED BY MRS. BLACKWOOD.

MONTREAL :

PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.

1859.

t/'.

a

' ■• % :i

PREFACE.

In the publication of this work I am influ-
enced by a thorough conviction of its utility^
Its object is to remove the greatest obstacle
to the acquirement of the French language j
by fixing indelibly in the memory, the genders
of the French nouns ; without a perfect know-
ledge of which, it is impossible to speak that
language with even tolerable propriety.

French is now learned by almost every class,
and its importance duly appreciated. It is a
species of universal passport. I am persuaded
therefore, that this little book will prove gene-
rally acceptable ; as by a plain and easy me-
thod, it leads the learner over the most diffi-
cult step in this useful and elegant acquirement.
The most striking difference between the Eng-
lish and French languages consists in the
genders of their nouns. In English, we call a
male by the masculine term he ; a female, by
he feminine term she ; and anything inanimate
by the neuter terra it. The French likewise

tftll a ftiale he^ and a female shej as We do ; but
by a fault in the genius of their language, they
have no neutef, but call every inanimate thing
either he or she^ making it masculine or femi*
nine ; and hence arises the difficulty. A child
learning French Can see no reason why a chair
or a table should be called she^ or why a hinge
Or a nail should be called he ; these things are
neither males nor females, and it therefore ap-
pears strange to the learner that they should
be classed as masculines and feminines ; but
they are so classed, and must be learned cor-
rectly. To accomplish this is a very great
difficulty to all persons learning French ; it is
extremely troublesome to pupils even of the
quickest talents and most retentive memory,
who learn from the French grammars now in
use. Though some of them are extremely well
' arranged for grammatical instruction in other
' respects, in regard to thB genders they are en-
' tirely destitute of any contrivance to assist the
memory, while the almost endless lists of rules
and exceptions are fit only to harass and dis-
courage learners of even the readiest abilities.
" So impracticable are these rules, that I have
known masters to recommend their pupils to
go completely through the French dictionary,
and copy out all the nouns, prefixing the gen-

der to each,— a labor of weeks ; and I mncfa
question whether a twentieth part of them
would by that method be fixed in the mind^
unless the copying were many times repeated j
and, after all the trouble and consumption of
time, the pupil, being without any certain rules^
would seldom feel an absolute confidence in
the correctness of his memory.

To obviate the necessity of this disheartening
labour on the one hand, or recurrence to a
confused labyrinth of insufficient rules on the
other, the learner is here furnished with a
plain ^' Art of iltfemori/," from which I am
convinced that the genders of all the French
nouns may be learned in a few hours, and learn-
ed so as never to be forgotten. I feel the more
confident on this point, as a French teacher of
great experience who has taught French in
England during the last 42 years, assured me
that many natives of France would derive great
benefit from this book, in fixing the genders in
the memory. I offer it, therefore, to the public in
general, and to teachers in particular, with a
certainty that it will fully answer the purpose
desired ; and by putting within the reach of
all, what has hitherto been scarcely attainable
by any, it will be found equally beneficial to
the teacher, the pupil, and the adult* . ^1

Knowledge and learning Cannot be acquired
without exertion ; those who aspire to possess
these distinctions, must prove by industry and
perseverance that they deserve them ; but much
may be done to assist the memory by art and
method, and it is the duty of every teacher to
render the path of improvement as smooth as
possible. •■.'..'.-'' 'i' ■■;!■:

' /r M. Blackwood,

/ '; ^ Beaver Hallj No, 16, :'

Montreal, 1 Sept., 1859. , ;

:.;..■> ■ ■ ■.' . .( '■

^V :;,..■ ;,:i'v"Yi'

■'&'•' ■■/■ • ■ ; ' . ' . . :■ ;. : ; ■■ '■'■■:, H\ii.

. )

•

I

«,- INTRODUCTION. . ■;.:.»>«

;-,">'•

'- 'M.

The system by which the genders of the
French nouns may be most readily and
firmly fixed in the memory, begins by
classing them by their final syllables. Thus ■
there are 643 nouns ending in er, which
are all masculine except two : there are
144 ending in oir, all masculine without a •
single exception : 70 in a/, 24 in ais, and
83 in arc?, all masculine without exception :
and 305 in et^ all masculine except one
word. Therefore, if these six endings can
be fixed in the memory, as masculines, the
learner will know the genders of 1269
nouns.

But the difiiculty is to remember long
lists of terminations, and to fix in the mind
the gender of each. There are many
grammars where whole pages are filled
with terminations and exceptions ; but they
contain nothing to assist the memory, — no

clue by which the ending is connected to
its own particular gender. Those who
learn from these books may perhaps re-
member that all nouns ending in ais are of
the same gender; but there being no guide-
or catchword to assign ais to the mascu--
lines, they must be continually in doubt.

My plan to help the memory is this: I
have introduced the masculine endings in
three Fables^ the actors in which fables are^
masculine. Every noun in these three fables
is masculine ; and no nouns are admitted
into them but such as give the rules.
Thu& the endings mentioned above are
given in the first four lines of the first fable^
which a pupil can easily learn in half an
hour, and thus acquire the genders of five
thousand seven hundred and ten French
nouns* '

Le Cheval et le Sanglieb.

Un sanglier fier de son pouvoir^
Prenant ]efrais dans un bosquet^
Eencontra un beau soir
Par hazard un bidet*

Here the word cheval will fix the nouns^
in al ; sanglier, those in er ; and so of the?

rest. Having learned these fables by heart*-
perfectly, which, as they are only three in
number, may be accomplished in a very few
hours, the pupil, when he meets with a
noun ending like any one of those nouns
given in the fables, will easily ascertain
the gender by recurring to the guiding
word : for instance, if he wants to use a
word ending in ais or in ard,^ he will im-
mediately call to mind ihe^ordsfrais or ha-
zard^ and, remembering that those nouns oc-
cur in the fable with wusculine actors^ viz. a
wild boar^ a horse^ and a man, he will
decide at once and with confidence thatai«
and ard are masculine terminations, and
that the word he wants is masculine. The
feminine endings, being introduced in three
fables having a female speaker in each of
them, and every noun in them feminine,
will be fixed in the memory in the same
manner. The exceptions, which are not
very numerous, must be learned by heart.
The pupil must remember that the nouns
ONLY give the rule; they are printed in
italics to be more readily observed : but of
course a person learning French cannot
be so ignorant of grammar as to find any
diflSculty in distinguishing the substantive
from the other parts of speech.

10

; In the perusal of these fables I trus^tthat *
the reader will remember, that, as the plan :
required a certain number of endings to be •
introduced with connection in a fable, all
the masculines being in one place and all '•
the feminines in another, there could be
little choice as to words and phrases. This
ought to disarm all criticism against the
construction of the lines and sentences.

For the peculiarity and oddity of some
of the lines, I shall make no apology, as
the practice of Von Feinagle ir his admi-
rable " Art of Memory," and the experience
of all who have formed systems to aid the
memory, agree in proving that eccentric,
quaint, or, as they may be called, outrof-
the-way expressions^ are much more easily
fixed in the recollections than sentences
unmarked by any peculiarity.

FIRST MASCULINE FABLE.
Which gives the gender o/* 5710 Nouns.

Lk Cheval et le Sanglier.

Un sanglier (1) fier de son pouvoir, (2)
Prenant lefrais (3) dans un bosquet, (4)
Ren contra un beau soir, ^

Par hazard (5) un bidet. ^ ' ■

' . y.

11

Ho 1 maraud^ (6) dit-il en furieux^ (7) T/i.
Qui te rend si audacieux? ^^ i > ^^s* - .^-n rl M
Que faia-tu ici malotru? (8) *^ > •' ^ ;- M
Oh /7m / (9) Rien dis-tu !
Je suis le roi (10) etlemattre (11) ici,

Pardi! ^ •

De e/m/z (12) a Mai, (13) de Mercredi a

Mardi : (14)
Et \A des V instant, (15) sans dire mo^, (16)
Tu ne tournes pas le dos, (lY)
Fat! (18) je te mangerai commeuii gigot.
Le cheval (19) en ce cas, (20)
Retourna sur ses pas;
Vite, comme de lait (21) ou de vin (22) un

ocean (23)
Coule dans Yestomac (24) d^xrn ffourmand;

(25)

Aussi vite qu'un oiseau (26) ou le vent, (27)

Notre cheval en furibond, (28)

Pour se venger de cet affront (29)

A Yhomme (30) s'adressa;

Et son antagoniste (31) lui nomma.

Oui, dit I'homme, mais un mord, (32) un .

licoii, (33)
II faut te mettre sur le cou.
II n'aime point le licou,
Et il croit que le/mn, (34)
N'a pas le bon goiit (35)
De Vherbage (36) ou du grain, (3*7)

12

_,^'i."7^ ^j^

Neanmoins il part, et dans le viandis (38)

II trouve son ennemi.

Plein de courage et de Jlel^ (39)

Comme Veclair^ (40) feu du ciel,

lis s'elancent sur le tyran ;

Et le chasseur (41) mort I'etend.

Le cheval le rernercie

Avec beaucoup d':spn7; (42)

Et maintenant que j'ai mon hut^ (43)

Adieu ! dit-il ; mais Phomme I'arrfete d*un

refus ! (44)
Non ! non ! mon pauvre fou,
J'ai besoin (45) de vous,
Dit le chasseur, et puis
II Ten train e au logis.
Ainsi Yorgueil (46) et 1' outrage,
Furent punis dans le sanglier :
Et le cheval par un dur esclavage,
Paya cher \q plaisir (47) de s'etre veng6.

NOTES TO THE FIRST MASCULINE

FABLE.

1, Sanglier, — There are 643 nouns
ending in er^ all masculine except la mer,
the sea, and une cuiller^ a spoon. I re-
commend those learners who are advanced
beyond childhood to fix all exceptions in
the memory, by forming them into short
sentences, after the manner of Feinagle, iu

13

his "Art of Memory." For instance, they
might say the man who attempts to learn
without method^ is like one who tries to
empty th'C sea with a spoon ; vider la mer
avec une cuiller. After which it is scarce-
ly possible that the words mer and cuiller
could enter the mind, without being re*
membered as exceptions.

2. Pouvoir, — There are 144 words in
oir^ all masculine,

3. Frais. — 24 in ais^ all masculine.

4. Bosquet. — 305 French liouns end in
et : the only one feminine is une for6t, a
forest.

6. Hazard, — 83 in ard; are all masculine.

6. Maraud. — 22 ending in aud, all mas-
culine.

7. Furieux. — The learner will observe
that this adjective is here used as a substan-
tive. French adjectives are very frequently
made substantives^ There are 50 nouns in
eux^ all masculine.

8. Malotru. — There are 49 nouns in w,
of which glu, birdlime, tribu, a tribe, and
vertu, virtue, are feminine. Bru, a daughter-
in*law, is feminine of course. Words which
are masculines or feminines absolute, as
designating males and females, it is not
necessary to except particularly, as their
gender must be immediately obvious.

14

0. Hien, — 78 in erij all masculine.

10. Boi. — Of 24 in o^, Joi and foi, law
and faith, are the only fcrninines, except
parol, a wall, which is chiefly used in tne
plural.

11. Maitre, — 4 in aitre^ masculine.

12. Juin, — 1 in uin^ masculine.
15. Mai. — 17 in m, all masculine.

14. MardL — There are 98 nouns in ^,
of which the feminines are merci, mercy,
fourmi, an ant, and I'apres^midi, the after-
noon.

15. Ins taut, ^--123 in ant, many of which
are pv iciples converted into substantives J
are all masculines.

16. l/o^— Of 102 in ot, the only femi-
nine is la dot, the marriage portion.

17. Dos,' — 12 in os, all masculine.

18. Fat, — 138 in at^ all masculine.

19. Cheval. — 69 in al^ all masculine.

20. Cas, — 68 in as, all masculine.

21. Lait, — 15 in ait, all masculine.

22. Vin, — Of 239 in in, fin, the end, is
the only feminine.

23. Ocean, — 95 in a?i, all masculine.

24. jEJstomac. — 21 in ac, all masculine.

25. Gourmand, — 13 in and, all mascu^
line. ' -

26. Oiseav. — Of 226 nouns in aw, peati,
the skin, and eau, water, are the only
feminines.

27* Vent.' — Of 719 nouns in entj gent,
a nation, and dent, a tooth, are the only
feminines.

28. Furibond, — 10 in ond^ all masculine.

29. Affront.~(j in ont^ all masculine.

30. Homme. — There are 13 in omme^oi
which somme, a sum, gomme, gum, and
pomme, an apple, are feminine. Somme,
a sleep or .ap, is masculine.

31. Autagoniste, — Of 151 in iste^ piste,
a footstep, batiste, cambric, and liste, a list,
are feminine.

32. Mord. — 13 in ord^ all masculine.

33. Licou. — 41 in ow, all masculine.

34. Frein. — 9 in em, all masculine.

35. GoM. — 23 in out^ all masculine.

36. Herbage, — There are 374 nouns in
agCy of which the following are feminine :
rage, rage, image, an image, page, a page of
a book, cage, a cage, nage, the act of sailing,
ambages, doubtful expressions, and passe-
rage and saxifrage, the names of plants.
The two last are seldom used.

37. Grain. — Of QQ in am, la main, the
hand, is feminine : it takes its gender from
the Latin manus.

';■ • *•; ■

16

8B. Viandis, — Of 127 in /s, soutis, a
tnouse, vis, a screw, brebis, a sheep, and
fleur-de-Ii?, are feminine ; as are Iris and
Themis of course, as females.

•89 Mel. — 45 in tl^ all masculine.

40. Eclair, — 1*7 in aeV, all masculine,
tjxcept la chair, the flesh, which is derived
from, and follows the Latin caro, carnis.

41, Chasseur. — As words of this ending
occur very frequently, the learner must be
quite perfect in this note. There are 1234
words in eur^ all masculine but 67 : but
though the exceptions are so numerous,
they may be learned in two minutes. Re-
member that, except six, all the masculine
nouns in eur designate men in their ac-
tions or trade, and are derived fi^m verbs,
or Latin nouns in or, as parleur, jaseur,
acteur, lecteur, &c. The six masculines in
euVj which do not designate men, are heur,
luck, and its compounds bonheur, malheur,
with bonheur^, deshonneur, and pleurs, tears.
Therefore, except the above six, whenever
the learner meets with a word in eur, which
expresses a living creature, he must remem-
ber it is masculine ; and if it does not, it is
feminine. The 67 feminines in eur, ex-
press properties and qualities, as laideur,
ugliness, hauteur, height, rongeur, red-
ness, &c.

42. Esprit — 44 in ity all masculine.
48. ^lA^. — 22 in w^, all masculine.
44. Mefus, — 34 in us^ all masculine.

46. Besoin. — 15 in oin^ all masculine.
The reader will observe that I could not
well include oin in the rule otin^ait in the
rule of ity &c., as, though the gender i the
same, the pronunciation is so different that
the memory would not easily refer besoin
to vin, or lait to esprit.

A^. Orgueil. — 78 in «7, all masculine.

47. Plaisir, — 17 in ir, all masculine.
The learner will observe, that though in

these fables a termination is sometimes re-
peated, yet none are to be found but such
as give the rule, therefore the repetition
will help rather than confuse the memory:
thus, for a word in of, or age^ if mot and
herbage do not instantly occur to the mind
as the guiding word, gigot and courage
very probably may : and so of the rest.

SECOND MASCULINE FABLE.
Which gives the Gender q/* 1470 Nouns.

LeS deux MiLITAIRES ET L^OuRS.

Deux fils (1) de Mars (2) frais et gaillards,
Pour voyager prirent leur depart : (3)

B

T r

J^sr

Et firent entr^eux le marchi (4)

De mutuellement s'assisten ' f !

Au declin du/owr (6)''

lis entendent un grand bruit ; (6)

Et hurlant un ours (7) .

D'un bois (8) sortit. '; ' *

II vient droit k nos militaires ; (9)

lis ne peuvent fuir, et que faire?

Un d'eux leger et dispos,

Laisse son compagnon (10) seul;

Et 8'elan5ant d'un satitj (11)

Grimpe sur un tilleul. (12)

L'autre, qui toujours le rosbif (IS) aima,

Et qui buvait comme un Czar, (14) ou un

jBacAa, (16)
Et qui etait aussi gras et gros

[Qu'un moine, (16) ou q}!^ un populo : (17^ ^

' Dans un sillon (18) s'6tendit,
Tout de son loriff ; (19) et le mort (20)

contrefit.
fours s'approche en courroux: (21)
Mais il manque son coup ; (22)
Car en lui flairant le corps^ (23)
II prend notre homme pour un mort.

. Et comme aux cad&vres (24) il ne touche

pas,
Comme ymdogue (25) grognant il s'en va.
Le matamore (26) de Varbre (21) descend^^
Et djemanda ce que Fours avait dit :

V'i*.'

W:

Car du haut dit-il j'ai observfe
Que de pr^s il sembiait te parlen r
" Ouil il m'a averti lui dit-il, '

Que celui qui d^serte son ami,
Dans le temjJS (28) du piril (29)
N'est digne que de m6pris.

NOTES TO THE SECOND MASCULINE

FABLK

1. Fits. — ^There are 6 nouns in t7«, all
masculine.

2. Mars, — 7 in ars, all masculine.

3. Depart, — Of 24 in arf,hart, a halter,
part, a part, and its compounds quotepart
and plupart are the only feminines.

4. Marche. — Th>e learner must take par-
ticular notice that nouns ending in i with
Uhe acute accent are to be divided into two
tlasses: viz. l«t, those which end in t6, as
bont6, beaute, «fec., and 2^d, those where
the final 6 is preceded by some other letter
than t, as marche, cur6, abbe, cafe, &c.
It is only with the latter class we have to
do in this place, as te is a feminine ending,
and is noticed in note 20 of the first femi-

■ nine fable, at the word beaute*

Remember therefore that everyone of

the 347 words ending in 6 with the acute

<''^jaccent, not immediately preceded by t, is

20

d *v", '/v'""'

masculine, except these 4 ferninines, piti^,
pity, moiti6, moiety, amide, friendship, and
iniraiti6, hatred ; which may be fixed in
this sentence, — C'estgrande piti6 quand un
homme change Vamitii qu^l avait pour sa
moitie en inimitie.

5. Jour, — Of 28 in our and 6 in ur, all
are masculine except coury a court, and its
compounds, and tour, a tower, a castle at
chess. Tour, a turn, a trick, a turner^s too!^
is masculine.

6. Bruit. — Of 15 in uit, nuit, night, is
the only feminine. Minmt, midnight, is
masculine*

7. Ours. — There are 11 in ours, all maa-
culine. S sounds in un ours.

8. JBois, — Of 23 in m, the only femi-
nine is fois, time*

9. Militaire. — There are 198 words in
aire. They are all masculine except 11
names of plants, as zedoaire, Ac, and af-
faire, business, aire, a floor, glaire, the
white of an egg, paire, a pair, grammaire,
grammar, chaire, a pulpit, and jugulaire,
the jugular vein.

10. Compagnon, — As about one ninth
part of the French substantives end in an^
the learner must be very exact in their
genders. They are subdivided into 4 classes,

21

— nouns in ion and aisorij which belong
to tb^ feminities, and iilon and ott, which
belong to the masculines. For illoa see
note 18 of this fable. Of those which end
in on {without being in ion^ aison, and
illon) there are 405. These are all mas-
culine except 4 designations of women, as
laideron, &c., and the following, which I
have formed into a sentence to help the
memory : Get homme en pamoison, qu^on
^ntraine en prison avec des maudissonSy a
coramis une trahisorij car on I'envoya pour
acheter du ble, dans la moisson^ pour en
fournir k foison^ toute la garnison ; mais
suivantsa/afon, il d^pensa tout en boisson
et chansons, II a vendu sa toison pour sa
rangon. Cette legon doit ^tre sa guerison.
The exceptions in on are in italics.

11. SauL — 14 in autj all masculine.

12. Tilleul, — 10 in eul^ all masculine.

13. Roshif, — Roast-beef. The French
also say un rosbif d'agneau, a roasted quar
ter of lamb. There are 47 nouns in i/j all
masculine.

14. Czar, — ^ in ar^ all masculine.

15< Bacha. — The 65 nouns in a are all
words adopted from other languages : they
are all masculine, except sepia, bandora,
talpa, falaca, and vinula.

22

16. Maine. — Of 12 in oine^ all are mas-
culine except the names of plants and
stones.

lY. Populo. — Of 43 in o, mostly bor-
rowed from the Italian, the only exception
is virago, which is feminine of course, as
denoting a female,

18. Sillon. — 44 in ilhriy all masculine
without exception.

19. Long, — 2 in ong^^ both masculine.

20. Mortj here means a dead man. La
mort, death, is the only feminine of 21 in
ort.

21. Courroux, — Of 9 in oi^cc, toux, a
cough, is the only feminine.

22. Coup, — 5 in oup^ all masculines.
2S. Corps, — 2 in orps^ both masculine.

24. Caddvres. — 2 in avre, both mas-
culine.

25. Dogue. — Of 26 in ogue^ the only
feminines are drogue, eglogue, vogue, sy-
nagogue, and pirogue, a canoe.

26* Matamore, — Of 19 in ore, mandra-
gore, metaphore, and pecore, are feminine.

27. Arbre. — 3 in arbre, all masculine,

28. Temps. — 3 in emps, all masculine.

29. Piril, — 62 in il, all masculine with*
out exception.

'■'V'V;; a17'. ^T vi^l f'^?:''^'^^ ' ~ V''. I " :^V;>''T ■ ■ '^ "" "/"'^^' > V-'i'f*^' ■^: ™

^ V^t

2r

THIKO MASCTJLlilf MLK
TFiiicil ffiveii the Gmdefr of 567 Nounsi,

L'AviDE (1) trompe et puni.

A un Arahe^ (2) esbldve (3) a Rome, (4)

on avait dit.
Que dans un dnotaphe (5) il y avait nn

trisor, (6).
Yers le minuit il s'y introduisit,
Croyant y gagner un kilofframnie {^)d^or^
Un sac de cutr (c Vpesant il y trouva,
Que tout j oy eux il emporta :
Mais il trouva du micompte (9) qiiand il

I'examinait :
Car au lieu de For quMl attendait,
II n*y trouve que nombre (10) de Lares

(11) AQphmh (12)
Et de cuivrey (13) auxquels les pr6tres de

Rome.
Des dieux des aires (14) donnaient le Twm

(15)
Les jparens (16) du difunt (17) inform6s

du sacrilege
Entrainerent le coupahle (IJS) devant le

siege (19)
Du coTisi^Z (20) de Rome, des juges (21)

unjprodige (22)

2i

^^J^W7'"r^-7f'r^"'"Z^'-^^^^

Qui dit, le hienrStre (23) du public (24)

exige
Que ce vol (25) d^iconoclaste (26) soit

puni ;
Et que vififft (27) coups de baton soient le

prix (28)
D'avoir meprise Vasile (29) des morts,
Et les emhlemes (30) des dieux que Rome

adore.
Par le travail (31) du ministre (32) et du

disciple (33) du droit
Le hilitre (34) souffre avec stoicisme (S5j

le chatiment de son exploit (36)
Et a ses compagnons dit de sangfroid (3Y)
Messires I (38) avant de courir aucun ris-
que (39) sachez pourquoi !

NOTES TO THE THIRD MASCULINE

FABLE.

1. Avide. — ^There are 38 nouns in ide:
the feminines are ride, a wrinkle, bride, a
bridle, guide, a rein, with ^gide, pyramide,
and cantharide.

2. Arabe. — Of 12 in abe^ all are mascu-
line but Souabe, Suabia, and syllabe, a
syllable. By a singularity, the compounds
of syllable, as monosyllable, &c., are mas-
culine.

25

8. JEsclave. — Of 19 in ai;^, the feminines
are cave, a cellar, rave, a raddish, with oc-
tave, have, entraves, and 6paves, strayed
animals.

4. Home. — 2*7 in ome, all masculine.

5. Cinotaphe. — Of 31 in aphe, all are
masculine except <5pigraphe, ^pitaphe, or-
thographe.

6. Tresor, — 12 in or, all masculine.

^. Kilogramme, — There are 19 nouns in
amme ; of which all that do not end in
gramme are feminine, as are anagramme
and epigramme.

8. Cuir, — 1 in uir, masculine.

9. Mecompte,—1 in ompte, 2 in omte,
all masculine.

10. Nomhre, — 9 in ombre, all masculine
except ombre, shade.

11. Lares. — The Lares were, among the
Romans, household gods, or gods of the
fireside, where small metal images of them
a few inches long were placed. They were
so called from lar, home. Of 19 nouns
in are, the feminines are cithare, tare, fan-
fare, and tiare.

12. Plomb. — 4 in omh, all masculine.

13. Cuivre. — Of 8 in ivre, livre, a pound-
weight, is the only feminine. Livre, a book,
is masculine.

26

. 14, Aire.'^20 in air^, all masculine but
fin&tre, bad silk» 4 in arire^ all masculine
but tartre, a salt.

16* iVoT^i. — 7 in om, all masculine.

16. Parens. — 11 in ens, all masculine.

17. Ddfunt. — 3 in W/W^, all masculine.

18. Coupabit ?0 in able, all mascu-
line except fable, table, and etable.

19. SUge. — 11 in ige^ all masculine.

20. Consul. — 8 in ul, all masculine.

21. Juge, — 10 in uge, all masculine. -

22. Prodige. — 14 in ige, all musculine
except tige, the body of a tree.

23. JSien-Sire. — Of 36 in Stre, gu6tre, a
gaiter, and fenetre, a window, are the only
feminines. : =

24. Public. — lb in ic, all masculine.

25. Vol.— ^19 in ol, all masculine.

26. Iconoclastey from two Greek words,
signifies a breaker and despiser of sacred
images. Of 10 in aste, all are masculine
except caste, a tribe, and haste, a dart,
which follows the Latin hasta.

2Y. Vingt — 1 in ingi, as le vingt de ce
mois, masculine,

28. Prix. — Of 11 in ia?, perdrix, a par-
tridge is the only feminine.

29. Asile. — I have taken a licence to
call a cenotaph, " asile des morts : " but it

27

means an empty tomb. Of 24 in ilCf the
feminines are pile, virgile, lie, bile, file, and
their compounds. The learner must dis-
tinguish ihj from ille, which belongs to the
feminines. , . / : V

30. UmhlSme, — Of 36 in ime^ br^me,
cr&me, and trireme arc feminine, and a se-
quence at piquet, as la septieme. When
part or share is spoken of, the numerals
become nouns masculine, as, un douzieme,
a twelfth part.

31. Travail, — 24 in ai7, all masculine,
as are 6 in astre^ 4 in usire and 7 in estrcy
except orchestre.

32. Ministre, — 5 in istre, all masculine,
as are 6 in astre^ 4 in ustre, and 7 in esire,
except orchestre.

33. Disciple. — 4 in iple, all masculine.

34. Belitre, — Of 18 in itre^ vltre, a win-
dow, epitre, mitre, and litre, are feminine.

35. Stoicisme. — 110 in isme^ all mascu-
line.

36. Exploit. — 10 in oit, all masculine.

37. Sangfroid. — 2 in oid^ and 2 in oids^
all masculine.

38. Messires. — 20 in ire, all masculine
except cire, satire, mire, ire, and Hegire.

39. Misque.^-Q in isque^ all masculine
except bisque, an advantage, and brisqu^
a game at cards.

28

: ■.').^>j»"rr

The pupil, having learned the three pre-
ceding fables by heart and read the notes
with attention, will know the genders of
7747 masculine nouns. I will add two
easy rules, which give 377 more, and there
will then remain only a few masculines in
I mutej which, by those who wish to be
fery exact, may be learnt separately.

, RULE L

There are 310 nouns which end with
A CONSONANT, and are of terminations dif-
ferent from all those given in the six fables.
These 310 nouns are all masculme^ except
faim, hunger, paix^ peace, chaux, lime, clef,
a key, moeurs, manners, soif, thirst, croix,
a cross, noix, a nut, poix, pitch, voix, the
voice, and La Toussaint, AH Saints' day.
Remember, therefore, that the guide to this
rule is the final letter being a consonant.

RULE IL

There are 66 nouns of which the last
vowel that sounds is a Y : these are all
masculine, except a few words seldom used,
viz. hydre, clepsydre, idylle, sibylle, hymne,
lymphe, nymphe, crypte, lyre, martyre,
analyse, and amethyste.

29

Masculine Words in e mute not compre-
hended in the preceding rules.

Tin sabre, a sabre
TJn cand61abre, a chande-
lier
Le sacre, the consecration
TJn acte, an act
TJn pacte, a compact
Le diaphragm e, the dia-
phragm
TJn aigle, an eagle
Le vinaigre, vinegar
TJn glaive, a sword
L'anibre, amber
Le bUme, reproof
TJn drame, a play
Le camphre, camphor
15 n cancre, a crab
Le change, change
TJn melange, a medly
TJn angle, an angle
Le manque, want
Le chanvre, hemp
TJn vacarme, an uproar
TJn charme, a charm
TJn cigarre, a cigar
TJn masque, a mask
TJn casque, a helmet
TJn asthme, an asthma
TJn saule, a willow
TJn aune, an elder-tree
TJn royaume, a kingdom
Le baume, balme
TJn psaume, a psalm
L'axe, the axis
Le luxe, luxury
TJn buste, a bust
TJn muscle, a muscle
TJn volume, a volume
"Un rhilime, a cold
Le costume, dress
Le cultCj worship

TJn tumulte, a tumult
TJn vestibule, hall
TJn scrupule, a doubt
TJn pendule, a pendulum
Le crdpuscule, twilight
TJn globule, a small globe
Le Sucre, sugar
TJn microscope, a micros-

<!ope
TJn telescope, a telescope
TJn soliloque, a soliloquy
TJn divorce, a divorce
TJn orme, an elm
TJn poste, a post
TJn pouce, a thumb
TJn tube, a tube
Le coude, the elbow
Le rouge, rouge
Le comble, the height
TJn ongle, a nail, or claw
TJn in sect e, an insect
TJn dialecte, a dialect
TJn spectre, a spectre
TJn remade, a remedy
TJn c6dre, a cedar
TJn si^cle, an age
Le r6gne, rei^n
TJn signe, a sign
TJn labyrinthe, a labyrinth
TJn philtre, a potion
TJn chiffre, a cypher
TJn trdne, a throne
TJn code, a code
TJn carosse, a carriage
TJn poeme, a poem
TJn coffre, a trunk
Le linge, linen
Le bronze, bronze
TJn vignoble, a vineyard
TJn cloltre, a monastery.

These 78 nouns, with aK those (31) end-
ing in acle, asme, uple^ oxe and ordee, com-
plete the enumeration of the masculines,
which amount to 8415, including 182 de-
signations of men, ending in e mute, as
ap6tre, an apostle, oncle, an uncle, and the
like, which I have omitted, as respecting
their gender there can be no doubt.

END OF THE MASCULINES.

FIRST FEMININE FABLE.
Which gives the Gender of 4048 Nouns.

L'Attknte DI&5UE.

Une jeune^We (1) avait une douzainc (2)

De belles tasses (3) de porcelaine,

Avec des coupes (4) et des petites crucheSy

(6)

Des ventouses (6) et d'autres fanfreluches,

Que aur sa tSte (7) a la vente^ (8)

Portait la jolie dehitante. (9)

Je les vendrai, dit-elle enriverie, (10)

Et une chance (11) a la loterie

Puis j'acheterais,

Avec la monnoie. (12)

Et de certitude (13) certaine, grande/or^t*-

ne (14) je gagnerai
Parceque la derniere lune je I'ai r6ve :
Et riche alors et bien mise,
J'aurai une montre (15) comme une mar*

guise, (16)
Done j'irai a la danse (17)
Et toua me feront la reverence (18)

32

Quelle taille! (19) dira-ton, qu'elle beauti !
(20)

Et puis on me pnera k danser.

Pleine de la vanity

De cette fausse idee, (21)

EUe secoua la t^te, et ioxxi-k-Vheure (22)

Arriva une terrible mesaventure : (23)

Cette secousse (24) dotruisit la belle crea-
tion (25)

De son imagination :

Sa marchandise est cassee a sa vue (26)

Et dans une minute (27) voila sa rickesse
(28) perdue.

NOTES TO THE FIRST FEMININE

FABLE.

1. Fille. — There are 99 nouns in illOj
all feminine except vaudeville, a ballad,
mille, a mile, codicille, quadrille, spadille,
and trille.

2. Douzaine. — 47 in aine, all feminine
except Le Maine, a province of France, and
capitaine, a masculine absolute.

3. Tasse, — 48 in asse^ all feminine but
Parnasse.

4. Coupes. — 13 in oupe, all feminine
except groupe.

5. Cruche. — 16 m uchcy sltiA 19 in ouchey
all feminine except baudruche, a technical

^^

•word, pi6douche, a pedestal, and 2 nouns
denotinifr ineri,

6. Ventouse, — 15 in ouse, all feminine.

7. TSte. — Of 80 nouns in ete^ all are fe-
minine except 6 compounds, as coupc-l6te,
&c., and the names of men, as prophete.

8. Vente, — 35 in ente, all feminine ex-
cept le trente, the 30th day of the month.

9. Debitante, — 49 in ante, all feminine,
except three names of men, and rossinante,
a mean horse.

10. .Reverie, — There are 715 nonns in
iCy all feminine except genie, genius, in-
cendie, a conflagration, 2 names of men,
one word from the Greek, perihelie, and
Le Messie, the Messiah.

11. Chance. — 1G4 in ance, all feminine.

12. Monnoie, — 14 in oie, all feminine
except le foie, the liver.

13. Certitude, — 47 in ude, all feminine
except prelude. Most of these follow the
gender of the Latin, being derived from
nouns in udo,

14. Fortune, — 23 in une, all feminine.

15. Montre, — 8 in onire^ all feminine
except le pour et le contre, pro and con.

16. Marquise, — 49 in ise, all feminine.

17. Danse* — 7 in anse, all feminine.

o

34

1 8. Rivirence, — 1 34 in ence, all feminine
but le silence, silence.

19. Taille. — Id in ailky all feminine.

20. BeautL — There are 612 nouns end-
ing in te ; they occur very frequently and
are all feminine except a few, viz. pi\tt, .. '
pie, c6te, a side, le bonudicite, a prayer,
and a small number of names of men deriv-
ed from participles, as depute, revolte, &c.

21. Idee. — There are 271 nouns in ^e,
all feminine except musee, a museum, tro-
ph6e, and a few words derived from the
Greek, as Hym6n6e, coryphee, scarab6e,
&c., which are very rarely used.

22. Heure. — 11 in eure^ all feminine.

23. Mesaventure, — Of 305 nouns in «^r
all are feminine except augure, parjure, ana
raurmure. |

24. Secousse. — 12 in ow5se, all feminine. I

25. Creation. — Particular attention must
be paid to nouns in ion, which amount to
11 73. They are all feminine except 8 de- /
signations of males, and pion, a pawn at
chess, septentrion, the north, croupion, the
rump, scorpion, a scorpion, -with fanioi;
gabion, gallon, talion, and trillion. \

26. Vue» — 44 in ue^ all feminine. (

27. Minute. — 13 in ute, and 14 in out^

•>

r

36

all feminine but parachute, and ^doute,
doubt*

28. Richesse, — 90 in esse^ all feminine
without exception*

SECOND FEMININE FACLE.
Which gives the Gender of 1451 Norms,

La Jolie Julienne, la Tulipe, et la

KOSE.

Julienne^ (1) 1^ "^osiire^ (2) reine^ (3) de la

f6te,
Avec sa couronne (4) siirla t&te,
De sa conduite (6) sans tache (6) digne re-
compense, (Y)
/' Courait dans les allees s'echappant de la
danse.
D'une onde (8) pure elle ariose.
Ssi favorite, (9) sa chere rose. (10)
La tulipe, (11) de la rose voisine.
A \a jaunisse (12) de jalousie faisant la
mine, (13)
^ 'PeLT pique (14) dit a notre Heroine,
Pourquoi, Mademoiselle (15) de grace,
Faut41 que je cede \a place (16)
A cette rougeaude, (17) cette idole, (18)
Dont tu sembles etre/o?/e .^ (19)
Pourquoi sans rime (20) ni raison, (21)

36

Perdrais-je a la comparaison ?

Dans ta robe (22) en guirlande (23) tu la

places ;
Ou dans tes boucles (24) tu I'enlaces.
N'ai-je pas une excuse (25) d'etre en coUre^

(2§)
De te voir avec xneLrlvale^ (27) cette nahote^

(28)
Et qu'^ moi toujours on prefere
GQite 2^ii^biche, (29) cette sotte'i (40)
Ne soit point en peine,
Reprit la vie^^ge (31) reine :
Ne le prends pas en grippe, (32)
Jalouse tulip e :

Dans la gelee je te couvris de naite, (33)
Mais tu I'oublies ingrate ! (34)
Neanmoins sans adulation.
Tu merites notre admiration :
Mais souviens-toi que la beaute exterieure
Cedera toujours aux beautes interieures.

NOTES TO THE SECOND FEMININE

FABLE.

1. Julienne. — There are 22 nouns in enne^
all feminine.

2. Rosier e, — Of 297 nouns ending in
iirey all are feminine except cimetiere.
Words in ere are classed separately. At
Salenci, in France, a young woman is an-

37

nually chosen " queen of the rosej^ La Ro-
siiiRE. This honour is conferred for super-
eminent virtue and correctness of demean-
our. The queen is crowned with a garland
of roses on the 8th of June. Madame de
Genlis has written a little play in which
this pleasing and honourable ceremony is
admirably described ; it is called La Rosiere
de Salenci.

3. Heine, — 12 in eine, all feminine.

4. Couronne, — 30 in onne^ all feminine
except personne, nobody. Personne, a per-
son, is feminine.

5. Conduite. — 12 in uite, all feminine.

6. Tache. — Of 30 nouns in ache, the only
masculines are gamaches, gaiters, panache,
a plume, rel^cbe, relaxation, and 3 or 4
names of men, as bravache, a bully, <fec.

'7. Recompense, — 8 in ense, all feminine.

8. Onde, — Of 14 in onde, the only mas-
culine is monde, the world.

9. Favorite, — Of 40 in ite^ all are femi-
nine except the names of men, as satellite,
Areopagite, &c., and merite, demerite, gite,
site, and rite.

10. Rose, — 15 in ose, all feminine.

11. Tulipe. — Of 12 in ipe, the only mas-
culines are participe and principe.

12. Jaunisse, — 14 in isse, all feminine.

38

13 Mine. — 157 in ine, all feminine ex
cept la platine, platina.

14. Pique. — There are 116 nouns in
ique. The masculine exceptions are 26
designations of men, as eccl^siastique, lai'que
&c. and portique, a portico, pique, at cards,
topique, and tropique.

15. Mademoiselle. — Of 123 in elle the
only masculines are libelle, a libel, vermi-
celle, vermicelli, isabelle, a colour, and
violoncelle, a violoncello.

16. Place. — 27 in ace^ all feminine ex-
cept espace, a space.

17. Rougeaiid. — 19 in aude^ all femi-
nine.

18. Idole. — Of 70 in ofe, all are femi-
nine except symbol e, mole, a dyke, mono-
pole, a monopoly, pole, and role.

19. Folle. — 12 in olle^ all feminine.

20. Rime. — 28 in ime^ all femine except
regime, crime, centime, and dime.

21. Raison. — 41 in aison^ all feminine
without exception.

22. Rohe. — 7 in ohe and ohbe^ all feminine
but lobe and g'obe.

23. Ouirlande. — Of 37 in aric?^, the only
masculine is le multiplicande.

24. Boucle. — 3 in oucle^ all feminine.

25. Excuse. — 11 in use^ all feminine.

39

20. CoUre, — Of the 73 nouns in ire,
the masculine exceptions are 7 designations
of men, with visceres, myst^re, ministere,
cautere, adultere, ulcere, cratere, and a few
words of very rare occurrence.

27. Bivale.'-'Of 50 in ale, and 12 in
alle, all are feminine but scandale, inter-
valle, ovale^ petale, and the compounds of
balle.

28. Xabote, — 47 in ote^ all feminine
except the names of men, antidote, and
vote.

29. Pimhiche, — 17 in eche^ all feminine
but preche, a sermon.

80. Sotte, — 37 in otte^ all feminine but
tirebotte, a boot-jack.

31. Vierge. — 11 in erge^dXl feminine but
cierge, a taper.

32. Grippe, — 4 in ippe, all feminine.

33. Natte. — 11 matU\ all feminine.

34. Ingrate. — 35 in ate^ all feminine
except the names of men, and stigmate,
which is used only when speaking of the
marks of our Saviour's v. ounds.

40

THIRD FEMININE FABLE.
Which gives the Gender o/* 1408 Nouns.

La Villageoise et la Belette.

Une villageoise (1) k force (2) (Tattrapes^^^)
Troiiva, enfin dans sa trappe (4)
Une imprudente belette, (6)
Qui mangeait en goinfrade (6) ses poulettes.
En phrase (7) adroite la captive (8) dit,
O belle pay Sonne ! (9) epargne ma vie :
Me tuer serait grande injustice, (10)
Car des vermines je suis la destructrice,
Et de i^^ ponies (11) la sauvegarde (12) et

la protectrice.
Quelle vergogne ! (13) dit la fille, quelle

histoire ! (14)
Je mourrais de honte (15) d'etre si niaise,
Que de me laisser croire
De ioih^ fadaises ! (16)
Aux poules confiees k ma charge (1'7) tu

fais la guerre, (18)
Aussi sur que plein de sdve, (19)
Nonrries de la houe (20) de la terre,
Les branches (21) d'une citrouille, (22) o^

d'une gadele (23) s'elevent.
Si tu n'eusses pas use ^QfeinteSy (24)
Je ne t'aurais point punie,
Mais je n'ecoute plus iesplainteSy (25)

41

A cause (26) de ton hypocrisie.

Tu n'apportes dans ma cabane (27) que

jplaies (28) et bosses ; (29)
Et aussi sur que j'espere aller a mes noces^

Trompeusey (31) tu mourras ! et puis sur la

tete
Notre hegueule (32) avec une mailloche

(33) assorama la bete.

NOTES to THE THIRD FEMININE

FABLE.

1. Villageoise, — There are 17 nouns in
oise^ and 2 in oisse^ all feminine.

2. Force, — 7 in orce^ all feminine but
divorce.

3. Attrappe. — 14 in ape, all feminine but
Pape, the Pope, a masculine absolute.

4. Trappe, — 8 in appe^ all feminine.

5. Belette. — Of 276 in ette^ the only
masculines are amulette, squelette, and 3
compound words, as porte-mouchettes, a
snuffer-tray. The learner will observe that
words compounded of a verb and a substan-
tive are masculine, even though the noun
be feminine, as porte-lettre, tire-balle, casse-
noisette, &c.

6. Goinfradc—Oi 139 nouns in ade^
stade, a stadium, is the only naasculine.

42

7. Phrase. — Of 23 in ase, vase, gymnase,
P6gase, and Caucase, are the only mascu-
lines.

8. Captive. — Of 4S in ive^ all are femi-
nine but convive : but we say, II faut etre
sur le qui-vive, we must be on the alert.

9. Paysanne, — 1 3 in anne^ all feminme.

10. Injustice, — There are 142 in ice.
The masculine exceptions are rather nume-
rous, but may be easily fixed. Eqmeraber
that except 6 all the femi nines in ice
designate women. These 6 feminines are
malice, milice, delices, notice, police., and
premices. Therefore, except these 6, when
the learner meets with a noun in ice that
does not name a female, he will know it to
be masculine.

11. Poule, — 13 in oule^ all feminine but
moule, a model.

12. Sauvegarde. — 37 in arde^ all feminine
but pericarde.

13. VergOLjne, — 14 in ogne^ all feminine
but Bourgogne, Burgundy, where vin^ is
understood.

14. Histoire. — There are 80 words in
oire. This is the most difficult ending in
the language, as there are nearly as many
masculines as feminines. The learner
must remember that all places in which

43

any persons assemble are masculine, as
ret'ectoire, a refectory ; all law and church
terms are masculine, as offertoire, the offer-
tory, petitoire, an action at law; and the
remaining masculines in oire must be com-
mitted to memory ; boire, i voire, vomitoire,
d6boire, genitoires, purgatoire, territoire,
and macbicatoire.

15. Honte. — 12 in (?n^ all feminine but
conte, a story.

16. Fadaise, — 15 in aise^ all feminine
except malaise, mesaise.

17. Charge, — 8 in arge^ all feminine ;
but we say le large, the ofHng.

18. Oaerra, — Of 12 in erre^ the mascu-
lines are cimeterre, verre, parterre, and
tonnerre.

19. Sive, — 12 in he^ all feminine but
reve and eleve. Eleve is both masculine
and feminine,

20. Boue, — 23 in ouCy all feminine.

21. Branches, — 14 in onche, all feminine
but Dimanche, and manche, a handle.
Manche is feminine when it means a sleeve.

22. Citrouille. — 18 in ouille^ all femi-
nine.

23. Gadele, — Of 19 in ile^ the mascu-
lines are zele, modele, parallele, and infi*
dele.

44

24. Feintes, — 12 in einte^ all feminine,

25. Plaintes, — 6 in ainte^ all feminine.

26. Cause, — 3 in ause^ S in awsie, all
feminine.

27. Cabane, — Of 50 nouns in ane^ all
are feminine but ane, an ass, crane, the
skull, manes, ghosts ; and organe, an organ.

28. Plaie, — 49 in aie^ all feminine with-
out exception.

29. Bosse, — Of 12 in osse, the only mas-
culines are carrosse and colosse.

30. Noces, — Y in oce, all feminine but
negoce and sacerdoce.

31. Trompeuse, — There are 263 nouns
in eu&e^ all feminine without exception :
they almost all designate females.

32. Begueule. — 10 in eule^ all feminine.

33. Mailloche, — There are 30 nouns in
oche^ all feminine but proche, reproche,
coche, and medianoche.

The pupil having learned thus far, will
have fixed in the memory the genders of
6907 feminine nouns. There remain about
220 more, which I could not introduce :
many of these are designations of females.,
as, une dagorne, a shrew, veuve, a widow,
femme, a woman, sage-femme, a midwife,

45

and the iike, the gender of which is in-
Btantly obvious. The rest are added in
the following list : —

Feminine words in e mute not comprehend'
ed in the preceding rules,

TJne lieue, a league Une orange, an orange

TJne queue, a tail Les louanges, praises

Vne meute, a pack of Une huppe, a tuft

hounds Une perruque, a pcruque

TJne preuvo, a proof La lutte, wrestling

Une oeuvre, a deed Une hutte, a hut
Unemanoeuvre,amanoeuvreUne fugue, a fugue

Une fl^vre, a fever
Une I6vre, a lip
Une bible, a bible
Une fibre, a fibre
Une afflche, a placard
Une corniche, a cornice
Une miche, a roll
Une niche, a niche
Des bribes, scraps
Des besides, spectacies
Une ferme, a farm
Une citerne, a cistern
Une lanterne, a lantern
Une caserne, barracks
La gouverne, direction

L'huile, oil
Une tuile, a tile
Une huitre, an oyster
Une couple, a couple
Une source, a source
Une bourse, a purse
La douane, the custom-
house.
La bourbe, mud
La fourbe, deceit
Les annonces, the banns
La provendc, provender
Une 16gende, a legend
Une amende, a fine
La tempe, the temple

Une giberne, a cartridge- Une larme, a tear

box Une alarme, an alarm

Une serpe, a bill-hook Les armes, weapons

Une controverse, a con- Une harpe, a harp

troversy
La perte, loss
L*alerte, alarm
Une d(3couverte, a dis*

covery
Bes conserves, preserves
ilJes verves, whims
Une drachme, a dram

Une carpe, a carp

Une remarque, a remark '

Une barque, a bark

L'ame, the soul

Une cellule, a cell

La cuticule, the cuticle

La mule, the Pope's slipper

Une pilule, a pill

46

Vtid cataraxjte, a cataract TJn virgule, a comma

L'epacto, the epacto Unc pcniiisule, a pcnitisUhi

Une raontagne,amountam tJne pendulc, a clock

La carapagne, the country La sauge, sage

tlue chdtaigne, a chcsnut L'db^ne, ebony

Une baguc, a ring Une scCne, a scene

Uno vague, a wave Une bibliotiiOque, a library

Une aile, a wing Une valve, a valve

tJne d^faite, a defeat La lOpre, leprosy

Une retraite, a retreat Lea vOpres, vespers

Les Alpes, the Alpes Une gu6pe, a wasp

Une jupe. a petticoat Une goutte, a drop

La fresque, fresco Une boite, a box

Uno horloge, a clock La pointe, the point

Une logo, a lodge Uno bom be, a bomb

La pompp, pump Une colombe, a dove

La moelle, marrow Une tombcj a monument

Une tourte, a fruit pie La peste a plague

La fange, dirt Une veste, a waistcoat

La frenge, fringe Les cendres^ ashes

Une grange, a barn Une r<5ponse, an answer*

These nouns, with all those in Sse^ arte^
ourde^ and ampey 28 in number,, added to
some female designations, and a few words
seldom used, complete the feminine listi
which amounts to 7,133. This number,
added to the masculines, 8415, will give,
the total amount of the French nouns, 15,-
548, a calculation which I believe agrees
as nearly as possible with those made by
the French grammarians.

As soon as the learner h^s committed the
six fables to memory, he ought to exercise
himself in the application of them. This
may be done by his teacher taking a dic-
tionary and calling the nouns, while the

47

pupil, as each word is called, refers it in his
memory to the guiding-word in the fable,
and answers as to the gender, A very
little practice will enable him to refer in a
moment to a word in the fables that ends
like the word he wants to know the gender
of. For instance, suppose the word asked
him be haleine, the breath, his memory
will refer it to reine^ or peine, and as these
words occur in the fable about the queen of
the rose J a female, he will know at once
that haleine is feminine.

Gibier, game, he would refer to sanglier ;
metal, to cheval ; enfance and esperance
to chance ; gravite, to beaute ; fente to
attente ; carquois to hois, and so of the rest.

The following list comprehends all
those nouns which the French make mas-
culine in one signification and feminine in
another. I should recommend students
who have made some progress in the
language, to copy them all, three or four
times, as the surest means of impressing
them on the memory.

Une aide, help

Tin aide, an assistant, as aide-de-camp

Un aigle, an eagle

4«

L'aigle Impferiale, a standard

L'aise, comfort, ease,/ew.

Le malaise, discomfort

Un aune, an alder-tree

Une aune, an ell-measure

Un barbe, a Barbary horse

Uno barbe, a beard

Un barde, a bard

La barde, a slice of bacon roasted with a

fowl
Un basqu(5, a Biscayan
Une basque, a skirt
Un berce, a bird
Une berce, a plant
Un braque, a setting-dog
Lesbraques,/e/7i, the claws of sbell-fish
La caraque, cocoa

Une caraqiie, a carrack, a kind of ship
Le carpe, the wrist
Une carpe, a carp

Un cartouche, an ornament in designing
Une cartouche, a cartridge
Un coche, a waggon, a passage-boat
Une coche, an old sow
Le connetable, the Lord High Constable

of France
La connetable, his lady
Un couple, a man and his wife
Une couple, a pair, a brace

49

Le chrome, or cr6me, consecrated oil

Le cr6me de tartre, a drug

La cr6me, cream

Un critique, a critic

TJne critique, a criticism

TJne dame, a lady

Le dame dame, a sort of cheese

Le double, a duplicate, twice the value

La double, the second stomach of a rumi-
nating animal

Un enseigne, an ensign, an oflScer

TJne enseigne, a flag, a token

Un exemple, a precedent

Une exemple, a writing-copy, a pattern

Le faux, falsehood

La faux, a scythe

Le follicule, the gall- bladder

La follicule, the seed-vessel in plants

Un foudre, a tun-vessel, a wine-butt

Un foudre de guerre, a thunderbolt of war,
a great warrior

Une foudre, a thunderbolt

La foudre de Dieu, the wrath of God

Un fourbe, a swindler

La fourbe, knavery, deceit

Un garde, a guardsman

Une garde, a defence

Le grefie, a register

La greflfe, a graft

50

Les gueules, gules, in heraldry, mas.

La gueule, the jaws of a beast

Uii guide, a guide

line guide, a rein

Le haut-paye, a soldier in extra pay

La haute-paye, extra pay

Uu heliotrope, a sunflower

Uiie heliotrope, a spotted precious stone

\J\\ hymne, a chaunt of the ancients

line hymne, a Christian hymn

IT II iris, a rainbow

Uae iris, the circle round the pupil of the

eye
Les Larves, mas, evil spirits
La larve, a worm or grub
TJtie ligne, a line

Ua interligne, a space between lines
TJd litre, a measure for liquids
Une litre, mourning hangings used in

churches
Un livre, a book

Une livre, a pound-weight, a piece of money
Un manche, a handle
Une manche, a sleeve, the channel
Un martyre, a martyrdom
Une martyre, a female martyr
Un matamore, a boaster
Une matamore, a slave prison
Un memoire, a bill, a memoir

51

La m 6 moire, the memory

Un mire, a bar 5 years old

XJne inire, an aim, the button at the muzzle

of a gun to take aim by
Un mode, a mood, accident
La mode, fashion, custom
Un mole, a pier, a mole, a dyke
Une mole, a tympany, a false idea
La mort, death

Un 111 Oft, a corpse, a dead man
Un moiifle, a pulley, a set of pullies
Une moufle, a mitten
Un moule, a model, a pattern, an example
Une moule, a muscle, a shell-fish
Un mousse, a ship-boy
La mousse, moss, froth
Un novice, a novice, a cabin-boy
Une novice, a female preparing to take

the veil, a nun expectant
Une nuit, a night
Une malenuit, a restless night
Le mi nuit, midnight
Le grnnd oeuvre, the philosopher's stone
Un oeuvre, a literary work
Les hors d'oeuvre, mas. small ragouts, side

dishes
Un oeuvre, an action, a work, a deed
Un ombre, a sort of fish like the salmon
L'ombre, mas, a game at cards

52

Une ombre, a shadow, a ghost

Les ombres, ma$, is applied to nDinrited
visitors introduced to a feast in ancient
Eome, by thoi invited guests

Un orgue, an organ

Les orgues,/gm. a pair of organs

Uorge^fem. barley

L'orge monde, peeled barley

Un page, a page, an attendant

Une page, a page in a book

Un paillasse, a theatrical clown

Une paillasse, a mattrass

Un palme, a measnre of length

Une palme, an advantage

Un panache, a plume

Une penache, a pea-hen

Un pantomime, a pantomine player

Une pantomime, a pantomine

Un parallele, a comparison

Une parallele, a parallel-line

Le passe passe, juggling

Une passe, a pass in fencing, a hen-sparrow

Un pendule, a pendulum

Une pendule, a clock

Le periode, the heighth

La periode, an epoch, a period

Personne, mas, nobody

Une personne, a person

Un pique, a spade at cards

53

Un pique nique, a pic-nic, a party where
each contributes provisions

Une pique, a spear, a quarrel,

Un pivoine, a kind of snipe, a gnat-snapper

La pivoine, peony, a plant

Un plane, a plane-tree

Une plane, a plane, a carpenter's tool

Le platine, platina, a metal

La platine, the plate to which a watch-
moyement is fastened, a copper plate

Un plinthe, a squared body of soldiers

Une plinthe, a plinth, in architecture

Un poele, a stove, a coffin-pall

Une poele, a frying-pan

Un Polacre, a Polish gentleman

Une polacre, a polacca, a vessel in common
use in the Mediterranean

Le ponte, punto, one who gambles

La ponte, the laying of eggs

Un poste, a station, a situation, office

La poste, the post-office, the mail, travel-
ling post

Le pouipre, purple, the purples, or spotted
fever

La pourpre, used figuratively for the power
and dignity of a king, pope, cardinal,
&c.,

Un pr6texte, a pretence, a pretext

La pretexte, an ancient Roman dress

54

Un pupille, a male pupil

Une pupille, Ihe apple of the eye, a female

pupil
Un regale, an organ-pipe
La r6gale, the holding a vacant bishopric
Le relache, relaxation
Une relache, the touching at a sea-port
Un remise, a glass coach.
Une remise, a coach-house
Le serpentaire, a constellation
La serpentaire, dragon- wort
Le sinople, vert in haraldry, a chalk
La sinople, anemony, a flower
Le solde, payment, balance of an account
La solde, the pay of a soldier.
Un somme, a sleep, a nap
Une somme, a sum of money, a load
Un souris, a smile
Une souris, a mouse
Une syllable, a syllable
Un monosyllable, a monosyllable
Un Polysyllable, a poUy syllable
La terre, the tjarth

Le terre a terre, short leaps of a horse
Le rezterre, a surface even with the ground
La tete, the head

Un tfete a t6te, a tete-a-tete j

Un torse, a torso, a mutilated statue ^

Une torse, a turner's tool

Tin triomphe, a triumph, victory

Une triomphe, a trump-card, a game at

cards
Un trompette, a trumpeter
Une trompette, a trumpet
Le vague, empty space
La vague, a wave
Un vis-a-vis, a carriage
Une vis, a screw
Un voile, a veil, a cover
Une voile, a sail

tj

LOVELL'8 8EBIES OF SCHOOL BOOKS.

IN THE PRESS,
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\ mm\i rjor^RiPDw.

BY

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Embellished with about 40 superior Maps and 100
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of all parts of the world, will give equal prominence to
the BRITISH COLONIES, concerning which such
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AUSTRALIA, &c.

The Maps and Wood-Cuts are now in course of pre-
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PRICE $1.

A liberal discount will be allowed to the Trade g,nd to

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IN PREPARATION :

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IN

fiElVEBAL (iEOCiRAPHY,

FOR THE USE
ov

YOUNGEH PUPILS ;

BBINa INTRODUCTORY TO
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Embellished with Maps and Illustrations,

BY

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JOHN LOVELL, Publisher.

LdVELL'S SEBIES OF SCHOOL BOOKS.

IN PREPARATIOI^^ :

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AND OP THE OTHER

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LOTELL'8 SERIES OF SCHOOL BOOKS.

JUST PUBLISHED :

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OP

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EDITBD BY

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CAHADi. Directory Oppiob,
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IN THE PRESS, ,

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