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ing the peculiar tones of "Indian summer ests," on slumbrous wings," etc. the swallows to the south for the winter). the "ghost of flowers"? Why does he "Inverted torch" (a symbol of death). were represented as spinning the thread of human life). "Twice War bowed to her" (her husband falls in battle-in the Revolutionary War—and then her son). Compare this poem with Gray's "Elegy" (first a long introduction descriptive of scenery and surroundings, and meditations on them; and at last a person described in keeping with the scene. In Gray's "Elegy " it is the pensive poet himself; in this it is the aged relict of a revolutionary chaplain).

(e. g., "the embattled for"Where erst the jay " (now gone with Why is the thistle-down called say spiders wove "shrouds "? "Sat like a Fate" (the Fates

APPENDIX.

WORDS DIFFICULT TO SPELL.

THE difficulty of spelling English words arises from the uncertainty in regard to the combinations used to represent elementary sounds the same sound (ě) being represented in eleven different ways in the words ebb, dead, again, æsthetics, many, nonpareil, jeopardy, friend, bury, guest, says. Again, the words great, heart, ocean, wear, read, head, earth, present ea with seven sounds.

The pupil will readily learn to spell all words in which the sounds are represented by the usual combinations of letters, by seeing them in print whenever he reads a book or paper.

A list of words to spell should not be cumbered by the introduction of easy words-such as contain only the usual combinations-but should have only those that are difficult because of the exceptional combinations of letters used.

The spelling-book, then, may be a very small book, containing about fifteen hundred words. This small list of words should be so thoroughly learned that the pupil can spell orally or write every word in it without hesitation. This can be accomplished by the pupil of twelve years of age in six months' time, having one lesson of twenty words a day to write from dictation, and using every fifth day for an oral review of all words from the beginning.

This thorough drill on a few words will train the child's faculty of observing unusual combinations of letters, and his memory thus trained will make him a good speller without spending any further time over the spelling-book. His memory will absorb and retain hard words wherever he sees them, just as a sponge absorbs and retains water.

The words are arranged in the following list so as not to bring together a number of words of the same combination, and thereby paralyze the memory, as is too frequently the case in the lists given in spelling-books, which, for example, collect in one lesson the words ending in tion, or tain, or ture, or in cious, etc., thus giving to the pupil by the first word that is spelled a key to all that follow.

Correct pronunciation is as important as correct spelling, and the rare combinations of letters are the ones most likely to be mispronounced. The following list contains the words liable to be mispronounced as well as misspelled, and even some words easy to spell that are often mispronounced. The following mode of analysis is recommended as an excellent auxiliary to the oral and written spelling-lesson. It should always be practiced in connection with the reading-lesson, and with the book open before the pupil, in preference to the usual plan.

Spelling Analysis.-The pupils and teacher have reading-books or spelling-books open at the lesson. The pupils, in order of recitation, analyze the list of difficult words one after the other, thus:

First Pupil-Groat, g-r-o-a-t (pronounces and reads its spelling from the book); it is a difficult word, because the sound aw is represented by the rare combination oa; it is usually represented by aw or au (awl, fraud), and by o before r (born). The sound may be represented in six ways.

Second Pupil-Police, p-o-l-i-c-e; it is a difficult word, because the sound è is represented by i, and not by one of the more frequent modes, ē, ea, ee, ie, and ei. There are ten ways to represent this sound. The word is also more difficult to spell, because it represents the sound of 8 by ce.

Third Pupil-Sacrifice, s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e; it is difficult, because the sound ĭ (before f) is obscure, and may be represented by any one of twelve ways. The letter c in fice has here the sound of z, a very rare use of that letter. The word is liable to be mispronounced sa-kri-fis or săk-ri-fis for sǎk-ri-fiz.

A. Table of Equivalents for Elementary Sounds.

I. The sound of a is represented in twelve ways: 1. In many words by ā (āle), āi (āil), and ãy (bāy); 2. In a few words by ey (they), ei (veil), ea (break), au (gāuge), ão (gãol); āa (Aaron), e and ep (mêlée), aye (meaning ever).

II. The sound of ǎ is represented in four ways: 1. In many words by ǎ (ǎt); 2. In a few words by ǎi (plăid), uă (guărantee), aa (Canǎan).

III. The sound of ä is represented in six ways: 1. In many words by ä (fäther); 2. In a few words by äu (täunt), eä (heärt), uä (guärd), e (sergeänt), aa (bazäar).

IV. The sound of â is represented in six ways: 1. In many words by â (câre); 2. In a few words by âi (fâir), eâ (peâr), ây (prâyer), ê (thêre), êi (thêir). â is the sound å (åsk) followed by the guttural vowel-sound which clings to the smooth r (see below, No. XV.). V.-The sound of ȧ is represented only by å (årk) in a few words. VI.—The sound of a is represented in eight ways: 1. In many

words by a (all), aw (awl), au (fraud), ô (bôrn); 2. In a few words by ôu (bôught), ôa (brôad), eô (Geôrge), aô (extraôrdinary).

VII.—The sound of è is represented in twelve ways: 1. In many words by ē (ēve), ēa (bēat), ēe (bēef), iē (chief); 2. In a few words by ei (decēive), ï (marïne), uē (Portuguēse), éy (kéy), ∞ (Cæsar), eo (people), ∞ (Phoebus), uay (quay).

VIII. The sound of ĕ is represented in twelve ways: 1. In many words by ě (mět), ĕa (brěad); 2. In a few words by ai (said), æ (diæresis), a (any), či (hěifer), čo (leopard), iě (friend), u (bury), uě (guěst), ay (says), ce (Edipus).

IX.-The sound of i (a diphthong composed of the sounds a-ï, pronounced so briefly as to reduce them nearly to e-i [her, it]) is represented in eleven ways: 1. In many words by i (ice), ỹ (bỹ), ie (die); 2. In a few words by ui (guide), ei (height), uỹ (buỷ), ai (aisle), ÿe (rye) eỹe, ay and aye (meaning yes). X.-The sound of i is represented in twelve ways: 1. In many

words by ĭ (it), ǎ (lynx), ie (duties); 2. In a few by uĬ (build), aĬ (certain), u (busy), e (pretty), ee (been), o (women), eĬ (foreign), ia (carriage), oï (tortoise). XI.-The sound of ō is represented in ten ways: 1. In many words

by ō (nōte), ōa (bōat), ōw (blōw); 2. In a few words by ōu (four), ōe (fōe), ōo (dōor), au (hautboy), ew (sew), eau (beau), eō (yeōman).

XII. The sound of Ŏ is represented in four ways: 1. In many words by Ŏ (not), a (was); 2. In a few words by Ŏu (lõugh), ŏw (knowledge).

XIII. The sound of û (a diphthong composed of ĭ-00; the accent placed on the i gives the prevalent American pronunciation, placed on the oo converts the ĭ into a y-sound, and gives the current English sound) is represented in nine ways: 1. In many words by ũ (tube), ew (few); 2. In a few words by ue (hūe), ûi (juice), eû (neūter), ieū (lieū), iew (view), eaŭ (beaūty), ua (mantua-maker).

XIV. The sound of ǎ is represented in eight ways: 1. In many

words by ŭ (bŭt), ỏ (sòn, and terminations in ión), òu (tòuch, and terminations in ous); 2. In a few words by ỏo (blood), ỏe (does), oi (porpoise), iỏ (cushion), eỏ (dungeon).

XV. The sound of û is represented in nine ways: 1. In many words by û (burn), ẽ (her), I (first); 2. In a few words by ea (heard), õ (wõrk), oû (scoûrge), ỹ (mỹrtle), ûe (gûerdon), a (liar). This sound, like that of â in âir (å in årk, and the guttural ŭh), is diphthongal, occasioned by the transmutation of the rough or trilled r to the smooth or palatal r, the effort expended in trilling the tongue having weakened into a guttural vowel-sound uh, heard as a glide from the previous vowelsound to the r. Very careful speakers preserve enough of the original sound of e, i, and y, to distinguish them from o or u, although the common usage, here and in England, pronounces them all alike. Smart says that "even in the refined classes of society in England sûr, dûrt, bûrd, etc., are the current pronunciation of sir, dirt, bird; and, indeed, in all very common words it would be somewhat affected to insist on the delicate shade of difference." The careful teacher will, however, practice his pupils in this delicate distinction enough to make them well acquainted with it. The same guttural vowel-sound occurs as a vanish after ē in mēre, ī in fìre, ō in mōre, ū in pūre, etc. XVI. The sound of u is represented in eight ways: 1. In many words by ōō (blōōm); 2. In a few words by ou (group), o (do), u (rule), ew (grew), ue (true), ui (fruit), ou (manœuvre). This is the general sound of ū after an r or sh sound, because the first part of the diphthong (1-00) is lost (after r), or absorbed (in sh). XVII. The sound of u is represented in four ways: 1. In a few

words by oo (brook); 2. In a very few words by ụ (bụsh), oụ (would), o (wolf).

XVIII. The diphthong ô-Ĭ is represented by ôi (côil) and ôğ (bôy).