After giving up several days to listlessness and irresolution, I determined to make an attempt to instruct myself with the books in my possession. Necessity compelled me to undertake this arduous task, as none of the teachers in the college, could convey instruction to me, for want of a knowledge of the French language.

The successful and amazingly quick method which Nature kindly dictated, will be found essentially the same that will be detailed in the following work; but greatly meliorated by the experience of time and reflection, and the practice of teaching the French language to Americans during the course of ten years.

With respect to instructing myself, I proceeded in the following manner: I first made out a list of all the French words of which I was desirous of knowing the meaning in English It comprehended words of various kinds that are to be found in this work, under the respective heads of Nouns, Adjectives, and Words forming the link, or completion of sense, between the other parts of speech. By the help of a dictionary I carefully adapted the corresponding English words, and began to commit them to memory, having previously ascertained their true pronunciation according to Sheridan, whose scheme of Håt, Håte, Håll, &c. had been fully explained to me.

With much anxiety it was perceived that this method of learning was defective, and from considering the operations of the understanding, it was thought much better to acquire whole sentences, the words of which were already connected together, than solitary words without any con

nection or interest.

I was soon sensible of the advantage of such a method, and conceived that it would store the memory at first with

every kind of useful words for the expression of ideas, introduce models for correctly forming sentences of my own creation, and finally impress me (as I can now venture to say) with an idea of the genius and analogy of the English language.*

A difficulty occurred in the very commencement of my fond pursuit for though I could find suitable English words to correspond with the French, I could not adapt familiar phrases to them. To be capable of doing so, I must be supposed to be well acquainted with the language I was about to learn, which would involve a contradiction. To surmount this difficulty, I resorted, after some consideration, to Boyer's Dictionary, from which I made extracts of the French and English examples, in order to imprint on my mind the acceptation or sense of words, and then adapt them to the words of my list, by transcribing them nearly as they are presented in this work.

Five or six weeks of persevering application were spent in acquiring a great many of those phrases, which afterwards were considered as a ready supply to my memory when I stood in need of them, a foundation to erect

Ten years after this had taken place, I read in Sicard's Course of Instruction for those that were deaf and dumb, the following, which shows how just the observation was.

"I had always thought that every language has two essential parts which "constitute and render it proper to describe the thought, viz. The nomen"clature of words, which forms the dictionary thereof; and the relative "meaning of words which composes the phrases and syntax of the language. The first may absolutely exist without the second; but a language restricted thereto, could express nothing but isolated images without association or connexion. Each word, it is true, would represent an object, but the word (the verb) would not be found among them; the "absence of which deprives those that are written one after another, of "that complexion which gives life to them, by rendering them all a.com. plete phrase."

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new phrases on, and a clue that might lead me to a conctepion of those that occur in conversation.

Encouraged by such views, yet with some diffidence, I ventured for the first time to visit some of the neighbouring inhabitants, for I had scarcely left my room. since the commencement of my studies, when, to my great surprise, I found myself able to enjoy and support a social conversation with them.

This happy acquisition inspired confidence, and greatly prepossessed me in favor of my method; continuing, therefore, to learn as many phrases as I could, my study, by degrees, became more easy and agreeable, until I was prepared for the perusal of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which, with the aid of my phrases, was readily understood, and read with ineffable delight. The histories of England, and of Charles V. were found by no means difficult; while many of the beauties of Thomson's Seasons were highly relished*.

The reader will probably be surprised, when he is informed, that by this method a tolerable knowledge of the English language, as it is written and expressed, was acquired, without the assistance of a teacher, in the short period of four months. And, although what I had acquired was by rote, and without grammatical rules, I could even carry on an epistolary correspondence with very little infringement on propriety.

Those who chuse to adopt the method of tuition exemplified in this work, can easily account for the progress I

* I have unwittingly, by pursuing this plan, followed D'Alembert's advice, who makes this remark in his posthumous works, printed at Paris, in 1799: Would you acquire a language speedily, and are you possessed of memory, "get a dictionary by heart, if you can, and read a great deal.”

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have made, even at a period of life when I was only sixteen years of age. Learners, endowed with a moderate share of memory, and making the study of the French language their principal object, will have it in their power to make a more rapid progress by the help of this production. After a residence of eight months at Princeton, being in much the same situation with many other French emigrants, I left it, with an intention of seeking subsistence in the character of teacher of the French language.

It will be natural to suppose, that I first tried, on my French scholars, the same method of tuition by which I myself had so well succeeded in learning the Erglish.

The collection of words and phrases made for my own purpose, with some revision and addition, served me also for my pupils. A plan at once so novel and so simple, did not fail soon to attract the jealous attention of some of the principal French teachers, provoked their indignation, and incurred their censure; insomuch, that the very success of my method operated as the most powerful cause of bringing it into disrepute.

The reputation of teaching French by rote soon raised such prejudices against me, that often my very acquaintances, on application for tuition, requested I would teach them the language grammatically.

I was, therefore, reduced to the necessity of changing my method, and adopting one which was repugnant to my own reason and experience: for then I was not aware that the high authorities of Locke, Condillac, Dumarsais, Sicard, D'Alembert, Saint Pierre, &c. could be produced for my support. On the contrary, I judged, from the continual boast of masters, all over the world, of teaching the languages grammatically, that if, as I first contem

plated, a defence should be attempted, I should be over whelmed by a phalanx of authorities.

To obtain bread in peace, I therefore renounced it, and pursued the old, stale, threadbare, grammatical system. Chambaud's grammar was then introduced into my school: this grammarian, who, for his dictionary, has deserved well of the public, appeared to me so obscure and prolix, and sometimes so inaccurate in his grammar that I conceived it would be a proof of my zeal for the advancement of education, to publish a work free, at at least, from some of those defects. I was, therefore, induced to write the French Grammatical Companion.

As soon as it was finished, proposals were issued to obtain subscribers, to defray the expense of printing. I had already obtained a sufficient number, and was making arrangements for its speedy appearance before the public, when good fortune placed me in the society of Mr. Alexander Le Rebours, a gentleman of considerable literary acquirement and metaphysical knowledge. After a conversation on the various methods of tuition, he spoke in high terms of that of the Abbé de Condillac, as the most philosophical, yet the most simple, ever offered to the public.

Such an eulogium on this great man, called up my most fervent wishes to become acquainted with his abilities; on observing which, Mr. Le Rebours politely lent me the first volume of the Abbé's Cours d'Etude. In his Discours Préliminaire, I was exceedingly gratified to find that his method of teaching the languages to his royal pupil, the Prince of Parma, resembled mine of teaching English to myself, and French to others, and for which I am indebted to the simple dictates of Nature.