70 PUBLICATION OF BANNS OF MARRIAGE COMMENCED A.D. 1210. It is better, however, as a rule, not to employ parerthetical sentences. 200. THE ASTERISK, OR STAR * may be employed to refer from the text to a note of explanation at the foot of a column, or at the end of a letter. Three stars are sometimes used to call particular attention to a paragraph. 201. Hints upon Spelling.The following rules will be found of great assistance in writing, because they relate to a class of words about the spelling of which doubt and hesitation are frequently felt: i. All words of one syllable ending in 7, with a single vowel before it, have double at the close: as, mill, sell. ii. All words of one syllable ending in 7, with a double vowel before it, have one only at the close: as, mail, sail. iii. Words of one syllable ending in 7, when compounded, retain but one each: as, fulfil, skilful. iv. Words of more than one syllable ending in I have one only at the close: as, delightful, faithful; except befall, downfall, recall, unwell, &c. v. All derivatives from words ending in / have one only: as, equality, from equal; fulness, from full; except they end in er or ly: as, mill, miller; full, fully. vi. All participles in ing from verbs ending in e lose the e final: as, have, having; amuse, amusing; unless they come from verbs ending in double e, and then they retain both: as, see, seeing; agree, agreeing. vii. All adverbs in ly and nouns in ment retain the e final of the primitives: as, brave, bravely; refine, refinement; except acknowledgment, judgment, &c. viii. All derivatives from words ending in er retain the e before the r: as, refer, reference; except hindrance, from hinder; remembrance from remember; disastrous from disaster; monstrous from monster; wondrous from wonder; cumbrous from cumber, &c. ix. Compound words, if both end not in l, retain their primitive parts entire as, millstone, changeable, raceless; ex cept always, also, deplorable, although, almost, admirable, &c. x. All one-syllables ending in a consonant, with a single vowel before it, double that consonant in derivatives: as, sin, sinner; ship, shipping; big, bigger; glad, gladder, &c. xi. One-syllables ending in a consonant, with a double vowel before it, do not double the consonant in derivatives: as, sleep, sleepy; troop, trooper. xii. All words of more than one syllable ending in a single consonant, preceded by a single vowel, and accented on the last syllable, double that consonant in derivatives: as, commit, committee; compel, compelled; appal, appalling; distil, distiller. xiii. Nouns of one syllable ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change y into ies in the plural; and verbs ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change y into ies in the third person singular of the present tense, and into ied in the past tense and past participle: as, fly, flies; I apply, he applies; we reply, we replied, or have replied. If the y be preceded by a vowel, this rule is not applicable: as, key, keys; I play, he plays; we have enjoyed ourselves. xiv. Compound words whose primitives end in y change y into i: as, beauty, beautiful; lovely, loveliness. 202. H OR NO H? THAT IS THE QUESTION. Few things point so directly to the want of cultivation as the misuse of the letter H by persons in conversation. We hesitate to assert that this common defect in speaking indicates the absence of education-for, to our surprise, we have heard even educated persons frequently commit this common and vulgar error. Now, for the purpose of assisting those who desire to improve their mode of speaking, we intend to tell a little story about our next door neighbour, Mrs. Alexander Hitching,-or, as she frequently styled herself, with an air of conscious dignity, Mrs. HALEXANDER 'ITCHING. Her husband was a post-captain of some distinction, seldom at home, and therefore Mrs. A. H. (or. as she ren SILK FIRST BROUGHT FROM INDIA A.D. 274. 71 were in the street, in the line of the omnibus, and one of those vehicles soon appearing often had occasion to regret. She was no sooner within the omnibus than she began remarking upon the hinconvenience of such vehicles, because of their smallness, and the hinsolence of many of the conductors. She thought that the proprietors ought only to 'ire men upon whose civility they could depend. Then she launched out into larger to dered it, Mrs. H. I.) felt it incumbent upon herself to represent her own dignity, and the dignity of her husband also. Well, this Mrs. Hitching was a "Will you 'ail it ?" inquired she. next-door neighbour of ours-a most So I hailed it at once, and we got in. agreeable lady in many respects, mid-Now Mrs. H. was so fond of talking dle aged, good looking, uncommonly that the presence of strangers never fond of talking, of active, almost of restrained her a fact which I have fussy habits, very good tempered and good natured, but with a most unpleasant habit of misusing the letter H to such a degree that our sensitive nerves have often been shocked when in her society. But we must beg the reader, if Mrs. H. should be an acquaintance of his, not to breathe a word of our having written this account of her-or there would be no limit to her "hin-pics-said she thought that the Hemdignation.” And, as her family is very numerous, it will be necessary to keep the matter as quiet as can be, for it will scarcely be possible to mention the subject anywhere, without "'orrifying" some of her relations, and instigating them to make Mrs. H. become our henemy," instead of remaining, as we wish her to do, our intimate friend. peror of Haustria—(here I endeavoured to interrupt her by asking whether she had any idea of the part of Hampstead she would like; but she would complete her remarks by saying)—must be as appy as the days are long, now that the Hempress had presented him with a hare to the throne! (Some of the passengers smiled, and, turning round, looked out of the windows.) One morning, Mrs. H. called upon me, I much wished for our arrival at the and asked me to take a walk, saying spot where we should alight, for she that it was her hobject to look out for commenced a story about an 'andsome an 'ouse, as her lease had nearly termi- young nephew of hers, who was a disnated; and as she had often heard her tinguished officer of the harmy. This dear 'Itching say that he would like to was suggested to her, no doubt, by the settle in the neighbourhood of 'Amp-presence in the omnibus of a fine-lookstead 'Eath, she should like me to assist her by my judgment in the choice of a residence. ing young fellow, with a moustache. She said that at present her nephew was stationed in Hireland; but he ex"I shall be most happy to accom-pected soon to be hordered to the pany you," I said. Crimea. "I knew you would," said she: "and I am sure a hour or two in your society will give me pleasure. It's so long since we've 'ad a gossip. Besides which, I want a change of hair." I glanced at her peruke, and for a moment laboured under the idea that she intended to call at her hairdresser's; but I soon recollected. "I suppose we had better take the homnibus," she remarked, "and we can get out at the foot of the 'ill." I assented, and in a few minutes we The gentleman with the moustache seemed much amused, and smilingly asked her whether her nephew was at all hambitious? I saw that he (the gentleman with the moustache) was jesting, and I would have given anything to have been released from the unpleasant predicament I was in. But what was my annoyance when Mrs. H. proceeded to say to this youth, whose face was radiant with humour, that it was the 'ight of her nephew's hambition to serve his country in the hour of need; 72 WINES FIRST MADE IN BRITAIN A.D. 276. and then she proceeded to ask her fellow-traveller his opinion of the hupshot of the war-remarking that she 'oped it would soon be hover! At this moment I felt so nervous that I pulled out my handkerchief, and endeavoured to create a diversion by making a loud nasal noise, and remarking that thought the wind very cold, when an accident happened which took us all by surprise: one of the large wheels of the omnibus dropped off, and all the passengers were jostled down into a corner; but, fortunately, without serious injury. Mrs. H., however, happening to be under three or four persons, raised a loud cry for "'elp! 'elp!" She was speedily got out, when she assured us that she was not 'urt; but she was in such a state of hagitation that she wished to be taken to a chemist's shop, to get some Haromatic vinegar, or some Hoe de Cologne! The chemist was exceedingly polite to her, for which she said she could never express her hobligations-an assertion which seemed to me to be literally true. It was some time before she resumed her accustomed freedom of conversation; but as we ascended the hill she explained to me that she should like to take the house as tenant from 'ear to 'ear!-but she thought landlords would hobject to such an agreement, as when they got a good tenant they liked to 'old 'im as long as they could. She expressed an opinion that 'Ampstead must be very 'ealthy, because it was so 'igh hup. We soon reached the summit of the hill, and turned through a lane which led towards the Heath, and in which villas and cottages were smiling on each side. 66 Now, there's a helegant little place!" she exclaimed, "just suited to my hideas about height rooms, and a horiel hover the hentrance." But it was not to let so we passed on. Presently, she saw something likely to suit her, and as there was a bill in the window, "To be Let-Enquire Within," she gave a loud rat-a-tat-tat at the door. "'Ow many rooms are there?" "Eleven, ma'am; but if you will step in, mistress will speak to you." A very graceful lady made her appearance at the parlour door, and invited us to step in. I felt exceedingly nervous, for I at once perceived that the lady of the house spoke with that accuracy and taste which is one of the best indications of refinement. "The house is to let-and a very pleasant residence we have found it." "'Ave you hoccupied it long?" "Our family has resided here for more than nine years." "Then, I suppose, your lease 'as run hout!" "No! we have it for five years longer: but my brother, who is a clergyman, has been appointed to a living in Yorkshire, and for his sake, and for the pleasure of his society, we desire to remove.' "Well-there's nothing like keeping families together for the sake of 'appiness. Now, there's my poor dear 'Itching"-[here she paused, as if somewhat affected, and some young ladies who were in the room drew their heads together, and appeared to consult about their needlework; but I saw, by dimples upon their cheeks, which they could not conceal, that they were smiling], "'e's 'itherto been hat 'ome so seldom, that I've 'ardly hever known what 'appiness his." I somewhat abruptly broke in upon the conversation, by suggesting that she had better look through the house, and enquire the conditions of tenancy. We consequently went through the various rooms, and in every one of them she had "an hobjection to this," or "a 'atred for that," or would give "an 'int which might be useful" to the lady when she removed. The young ladies were heard tittering very much as we walked across the staircases, for it generally happened on these occa COALS FIRST BROUGHT TO LONDON A.D. 1357. 73 sions that Mrs. H. broke out, in a loud to their stupid and vulgar manner of voice, with her imperfect elocution. I speaking. felt so much annoyed, that I determined to cure Mrs. H. of her defective speaking. In the evening, after returning home, we were sitting by the fire, and felt comfortable and chatty, when I proposed to Mrs. Hitching the following enigma, the author of which, Henry Mayhew, Esq., had favoured me with a copy of it: The Vide Vorld you may search, and my I dwells in a Wacuum, deficient in Vind; And yet I'm inwisible, gives went to no Vurd. But distinguished in Werse for the Wollums A more difficult and delicate task lay before me. I told her that as she was so much pleased with the first enigma, I would submit another by the same author. I felt very nervous, but determined to proceed :— I dwells in the Herth, and I breathes in the If you searches the Hocean, you'll find that I'm there. The first of all Hangels, in Holympus am Hi, Yet I'm banished from 'Eaven, expelled from on 'Igh. But though on this Horb I am destined to grovel, I'm ne'er seen in an 'Ouse, in an 'Ut, nor an Not an 'Oss nor an 'Unter e'er bears me, alas! I'm the head of all Willains, yet far from the And yet I'm invariably absent from 'Ome. I'm the foremost in Wice, though in Wirtue I'm not used to Veapons, and ne'er goes to Though in Walour inwincible-in Wictory Though 'ushed in the 'Urricane, of the Hatmo- I enters no 'Ed, I creeps into no 'Art. appear, Only hark, and you'll 'ear me just breathe in the Hear; Though in sex not an 'E, I am (strange para- Not a bit of an 'Effer, but partly a Hox. Though I goes not with Noar, I am first in I'm never in 'Ealth - have with Fysic no power; I dies in a Month, but comes back in a Hour! enigma, in reciting which I ventured to I noticed during the progress of this emphasise the misplaced h's as much as possible, that occasional blushes and smiles passed over Mrs. Hitching's face. After it was finished, there was a pause of some minutes. At last she said, "Very good, very clever." She carefully avoided using any word in which the h, hard or soft, was required. I saw she was timid, and I then determined to complete the task I had begun by repeating the following enigma by Byron, upon the same letter: D 74 PAPER MADE OF COTTON RAGS A.D. 1000. 'Twas whispered in heaven, twas muttered And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell: rest, drowned. I am happy to say that it is now a pleasure to hear Mrs. Hitching's conversation. I only hope that others may improve as she has done. to 203. Conversation.-There are many talkers, but few who know how converse agreeably. Speak distinctly, neither too rapidly nor too slowly. Accommodate the pitch of your voice to the hearing of the person with whom you are conversing. Never speak with your mouth full. Tell your jokes, and laugh afterwards. Dispense with superfluous words such as, "Well, I should think." 204. THE WOMAN who wishes her conversation to be agreeable will avoid conceit or affectation, and laughter which is not natural and spontaneous. Her language will be easy and unstudied, marked by a graceful careless Twill not soften the heart, and though deafness, which, at the same time, never to the ear, "Twill make it acutely and instantly hear. oversteps the limits of propriety. Her lips will readily yield to a pleasant But in shade let it rest, like a delicate flower-smile; she will not love to hear her Oh, breathe on it softly-it dies in an hour. She was much pleased, but seemed thoughtful, and once or twice in conversation checked herself, and corrected her pronunciation of words that were difficult to her. A few days afterwards, I called upon her, and upon being introduced to the parlour to wait for her appearance, I saw İying upon her table the following MEMORANDUM ON THE USE OF THE LETTER H. Pronounce-Herb, دو 'Erb. Onesty. Heir, 'Eir. 'Onour. Hospital, 'Ospital. self talk; her tones will bear the impress of sincerity, and her eyes kindle with animation as she speaks. The art of pleasing is, in truth, the very soul of good breeding; for the precise object of the latter is to render us ciate to make us, at the same time, agreeable to all with whom we asso esteemed and loved. 205. WE NEED SCARCELY ADVERT to the rudeness of interrupting any one who is speaking, or to the impropriety of pushing, to its full extent, a discusIsion which has become unpleasant. 206. SOME MEN HAVE A MANIA for Greek and Latin quotations: this is peculiarly to be avoided. It is like pulling up the stones from a tomb wherewith to kill the living. Nothing is more wearisome than pedantry. 207. IF YOU FEEL YOUR INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY to any one with whom you are conversing, do not seek to bear him down: it would be an ingloMem.-Be careful to sound the H slightly rious triumph, and a breach of good manin such words as where, when, what, why-ners. Beware, too, of speaking lightly of don't say were, wen, wat, wy. subjects which bear a sacred character. Humble, 'Umility. In all other cases the H is to be sounded when it begins a word. |