VII. From Mr Pope, to the Hon. Mrs H- Page 192 VIII. From Mr Pope, to Mr Steele, on fickness and dying young

193

IX. The parlour looking-glafs, to the beautiful Angelica

195 X. From Hortenfius, to his friend Palemon, giving an account of his happiness in retirement 198 XI. From a gentleman to his fon, just arrived from Paris, against fervile complaifance and talkativeness, with fome directions for behaving politely in company 199 XII. A letter to the Dean of Waterford, by a widower, the father of fix children, under the fictitious name of Elzevir

202

XIII. Letter of confolation on the death of a friend 203 XIV. From *** to Cleora, on the pleasures of retire

ment

XV. By Mr Pope, in the ftyle of a lady

204

206

XVI. To Mrs Rowe, on the vanity of all fublunary en

joyments

XVII. Mr Locke to Anthony Collins, Efq.

XVIII. To Cleora

207

208

ib

210

XIX. To Col. R. in Spain, from his lady in England 209 XX. Laura to Aurelia XXI. From Polydore to Alonzo, giving an account of his accidently meeting Aurelia, and of her falfehood to him, &c. XXII. A letter from Ariftus, giving his friend a rela tion of the sudden death of his bride, who was seized in the chapel while the facred rites were performing XXIII. From Mr Pope to Mr Addison

XXIV. From Mifs

212

216

218

to her brother, to acquaint him

of the death of her mother

220

XXV. From Mrs Rowe to the Countess of H

221

XXVI. From ditto to ditto

222

XXVII. From a perfon in town, to his brother in the

RULES for Reading, and particularly of the Emphasis belonging to fome Special Word, or Words in a Sentence.

I'

N order to read well, obferve the following directions : 1. Take pains to acquire a perfect knowledge of the founds of the letters in general. 2. Do not guefs at a word at first fight, if you are not well acquainted with it, left you get a habit of reading falfely. 3. Pronounce every word clear and diftinctly. 4. Let the tone of your voice in reading be the fame as in fpeaking. 5. Do not read in a hurry, for fear of learning to stammer. 6. Read fo loud as to be heard by thofe about you, but not louder. 7. Obferve your paufes well, and never make any where the fenfe will admit of none. 8. Humour your voice a little, according to the fubject. 9. Attend to those who read well, and endeavour to imitate their pronunciation. 10. Read often before good judges, and be thankful when they correct you. II. Confider well the place of the emphafs in a sentence, and pronounce it accordingly. By emphafs we mean the ftrefs or force of voice that is laid on fome particular word or words in a sentence, whereby the meaning and beauty of the whole may beft appear; this, with refpect to fentences, is the fame as accent with regard to fyllables.

The emphafis is generally placed upon the accented fylla ble of a word; but if there be a particular oppofition between two words in a sentence, whereby one differs from the other but in part, the accent is fometimes removed from its common place, as in the following inftance: The fun fhines upon the júft and upon the únjuft. Here the stress of the voice is laid upon the first fyllable in unjust, because it is opposed to just in the fame fentence; but without fuch an oppofition, the accent would lie on its ufual place, that is, on the last fyllable; as, We must not imitate the unjúft practices of others.

The great and general rule how to know the emphatical word in a fentence, is, to confider the chief defign of the whole: but particular directions cannot be eafily given,lexcept that when words are evidently opposed to one another in a sentence, they are emphatical; and fo is oftentimes the word which afks a queftion, as Who, What, When, &c. but not always; for the emphafis must be varied according to the principal meaning of the fpeaker.

A

PLAIN AND COMPENDIOUS

GR A M MAR

OF

THE

ENGLISH TONGUE.

G

OF GRAMMAR.

RAMMAR is the art of speaking and writing any language right and properly; and confits of four , parts, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Profody. Orthography teaches how to fpell and write every word with proper letters; as nation, not nafhun; oration, not orafhun; did, not dud; foot, not fut; tomb, not toom, &c. Etymology teaches the explanation or kinds of words, their derivation, change, analogy, or likeness to one another in any language.

Syntax teaches the right placing or joining of words together in fentences.

Profody teaches the accent and quantities of fyllables, pronunciation, and art of making verfes.

Of Orthography and the power of Letters.

A letter is a mark or character of a fingle found in fpeech. There are twenty-fix letters in the English language, viz. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r ƒ s. tu ข wxyz, called vowels and confonants.

A vowel is a letter which makes a full and perfect found of itfelf, without adjoining any other letter to it. There are five marks for vowels in the English tongue, they are, a e iou, and y at the end of words, for ie. Y is also a vowel in the middle of words, but all fuchr words as have y in the middle are of Greek origin and

B

each

each of these vowels have two general founds, that is, a long and a fhort found; the fhort found made long by adding final or filent e at the end, as bab, babe; her, here; fir, fire; rob, robe; tun, tune. So when thefe vowels end a fyllable; they are ufually long, but generally fhort in all other pofitions.

Of the Single Confonants.

A confonant is a letter which cannot make a perfect found without adding fome fingle or double vowel either before or after it; ib, or be; eat, or tea; and therefore derives its name from confounding or founding together with the vowels. Nevertheless, it may be defined a letter fhewing the several motions and configurations of the parts of the mouth, by which the founds of the vowels are variously determined.

The fingle confonants are twenty-one in number, bcdfghj k l m n p q r s t v w x y z; and are divided into mutes (by which is meant letters that are not pronounced though wrote) and half vowels; four of the half vowels are called liquids. A mute is a letter which cannot make a found without a vowel, as b c d f g k p q t. A half-vowel is a letter which makes an imperfect found without any letter added; as s is expreffed by hiffing, r by a quivering of the tongue; thefe are Im nrs vxx. His an afpiration or breathing; and j and w are neutrals, having both articulate founds, efpecially w, which founds every where oo, and fhould be fo pronounced.

Of the Double Confonants.

When two or three confonants meet together, we call them double confonants, and of these fome are fit to begin words or fyllables, others to end only; we call the first initial, or beginning, the fecond final or ending, double confonants.

They are forty-one in number, and are neceffary to be understood, for the better knowledge of the divifion of fyllables; these are, bl, br, ch, cl, cr, dr, dw, f, fr, gl, gn, gr, kn, ph, pl, pr, rh, sc, sh, sk, s, sm, sn, Sp, Sq, ft, fw, th, tr, tw, wh, wr, phr, fch, fer, for, Spl, Spr, Ar, thr, thw.

Rules

Rules for true fpelling and right divifion of the fyllables of long words.

A fyllable is a complete found uttered in one distinct breath; as "fo, of, in, which, good, earth," &c. Letters ferve to make fyllables, and fyllables words, &c. One fingle or one double vowel only, or any one of the fingle or double towels joined to any one of the fingle or double confonants, will make a fyllable. No number of confonants can make a fyllable without a vowel ; as Strngth can make no fyllable of themfelves, but if e be put in betwixt r and n thus, ftrength, it makes a fyllable and proper word; and therefore as many vowels, fingle or double, as are found in a word, of fo many fyllables does that word confift, which are never above seven or eight, and few words have fo many; as good, one; feemly, two; in-form-er, three; per-pe-tu-ate, four; dé-popu-la-ted, five; fo-lem-ni-za-ti-on, fix; tran-fub-ftan-ti-ati-on, Seven; in-com-pre-hen-fi-bi-li-ty, eight.

A Monofyllable is a word of one fyllable.
A Diffyllable is a word of two fyllables.
A Triffyllable is a word of three fyllables.
A Polyfyllable is a word of many fyllables.

There are five general rules for the true divifion of fyllables.

Rule 1. When a fingle confonant còmes between two vowels, it goes with the laft vowel in dividing the fyllables; as a-bate, ca-bal, de-cay, glo-ry, e-vent, wo-man, a-bove, a-mong, di-vine," &c.

66

Rule 2. When two confonants meet in the middle of a word, between two vowels which are not proper to begin a word, they are parted in dividing the fyllables; as "wed-ding, ac cent, vir-gin, mut-ton, but-ter, trum-pet, bar-gain," &c.

66

Rule 3. When two or three confonants meet between two vowels that are proper to begin a word, then they go with the last fyllable in the divifion; as fplen-dent, bro-ther, re-prive, a-bridge, frict," &c.

de-prive reta-bret, re

Rule 4.