B. A. Hathaway

“ Had the misguided youth read Ovid less often, and given precedence to Hemans and Ingelow, his fate might have been different. True, he might have hung on a greasy gallows like a highwayman, in squalor, and been the sport of canines for aye; while now, disarmed by death, he lies in a splendid mausoleum, far from the wharves and haunts of men, and can't accent his antepenults, and afford the greatest discrepancies extant in pronunciation.
[pg 99]
SELECT READING—THE BLACKBOARD AND CHALK.
1. ”

“ How distinguish between an affix and a part of a compound word?
If all the parts retain their literal signification they form a compound; if not, the part which loses its signification becomes an affix in a derivative.
72. Is the word outside compound or derivative?
It is compound.
73. Is the word outrun compound or derivative?
It is derivative.
74. What is Derivation?
That branch of etymology which treats of the sources of the words of a language. ”

“ The nature and power of letters, and correct spelling.
3. From what is the word Orthography derived?
Two Greek words, signifying "To write right."
4. What is a Letter?
A character used to represent an elementary sound, or combination of sounds.
5. What is an Alphabet of a Language?
A complete list of its letters.
6. What is the origin of the word Alphabet?
It is derived from the first two letters of the Greek Alphabet: Alpha and Beta.
7. Where did the Alphabet originate?
The English comes from the Greek, which was brought by Cadmus from Phoenicia, about the year 1490 B.C.
8. ”

“ How many syllables can a word have?
As many as it has vowels or diphthongs sounded.
36. How many words in the English language?
About one hundred and twenty thousand.
37. How are words divided in reference to form?
Into simple and compound.
38. How are they divided in reference to origin?
Into primitive and derivative.
39. What is a Simple word?
One that is not composed of two or more whole words.
40. What is a Compound word?
One that is composed of two or more distinct words.
41. What is a Primitive word?
One in no way derived from another in the same language.
42. What is a Radical word? ”

“ Those unacquainted with Phonography can not readily appreciate the ease with which it may be mastered, and the delight incidental to the unfolding of its principles. "Fascinating" is the word used in describing it by every one who has studied the art. The text-books have been so arranged and simplified that Self-instruction is a positive pleasure and recreation and has been successfully accomplished in thousands of instances. ”

“ It is needed by every Office Man, every School Teacher, every Stenographer every Tourist, every Letter Writer, every Pupil, every literate, and certainly every illiterate person throughout the length and breadth of our entire land. ”

“ What is Voice?
Sound produced by the vocal chords.
8. What is an Articulate sound?
One made by the organs of speech and used in language.
9. What is a Vocal sound?
One that is modified but not obstructed by the articulatory organs.
10. What is a simple Vocal sound?
One made without any change in the position of the articulatory organs during its emission.
11. What is a Coalescent?
An articulate sound that always precedes and unites with a vocal.
12. What is a Guttural sound?
One that is modified by the soft palate.
13. What are Unarticulate sounds?
The sounds of the vowels. ”

“ TEACHERS should learn Phonography, not only that they may be possessed of the enormous advantage of being able to write five times as fast as by the ordinary method, but that they may be able to teach the art. Phonography is rapidly finding its way into the Public Schools, and the demand for teachers of the regular branches who can also teach Phonography is now far in advance of the supply. ”

“ They bade the prolyx Caucasian gentlemen not to misconstrue their inexorable demands, while they dined on acclimated anchovies and apricot truffles, and had for dessert a wiseacre's pharmacopoeia. Thus the truculent Pythagoreans had a novel repast fit for the gods. ”

“ All letters used as numerals should be written or printed in capitals.
13. Give Rule 11.
The pronoun I should always be a capital.
14. Give Rule 12.
The vocative particle O should always be a capital.
15. Give Rule 13.
The first word of every line of poetry should begin with a capital.
16. Give one exception to Rule 13.
In humorous poetry, when a word is divided at the end of a line, the detached syllable at the beginning of the next line should begin with a small letter. ”

“ What is an Imperfect Alphabet?
One in which the number of sounds exceeds the number of letters.
22. What is an Equivocal Alphabet?
An Imperfect one.
23. What is an Unequivocal Alphabet?
Same as Perfect.
24. Is the English Alphabet Equivocal or Unequivocal?
Equivocal.
25. What is a Univocal Alphabet?
One that has a separate character for each elementary sound.
26. What is an Alphabetic Language?
A language in which the characters represent separate articulate sounds.
27. What is a Phonetic Alphabet?
One in which there is a separate character for each elementary sound.
[pg 7]
28. ”

“ The usage, or custom, of the best speakers and writers of the times.
7. How do we know when we have spelled a word correctly?
By reference to the Dictionary?
8. What is a Lexicographer?
An author of a dictionary.
9. Can we spell by Rules?
We cannot.
10. Why?
Because there are too many exceptions.
11. What makes a rule in Orthography?
Whenever a letter is silent, or usually so, a rule is formed.
12. Why is c placed before r in acre, massacre, etc.?
To preserve the hard sound of c.
13. What is the rule for Digraphs?
A digraph must have one vowel silent.
[pg 26]
14. ”

“ What effect do Stimulants have on the voice?
Irritate and inflame the vocal organs, which results in hoarseness and produces too high a key, which terminates in a squeaking tone.
[pg 75]
201. In faulty articulation what sounds are usually mispronounced?
The vowel sounds of the unaccented syllables.
202. What Consonants are often incorrectly dropped?
The final consonants.
203. How may distinct Articulation be acquired?
By continued practice of the elementary sounds.
204. What are the most prominent Elements of all words?
The vowels.
205. Which sounds should be practiced first?
The vowels ”

“ That science which treats of the elementary sounds and the pronunciation of words.
2. What is Phonology?
The science of the elementary sounds uttered by the human voice in speech.
3. What is an Elementary sound?
One that cannot be divided so as to be represented by two or more letters.
4. What is Sound?
A sensation produced on the auditory nerve by the rapid vibratory motion of any elastic substance.
5. What is the least number of vibrations that will produce an audible sound?
Sixteen per second.
[pg 14]
6. ”

“ Let us look into the future for the sequel to perfect this romance, and around a cheerful hearth we see again Geoffrey and Beatrice, who are paying due homage to their tiny friend Leicester.
SELECT READING.
1. A sacrilegious son of Belial, who suffered from bronchitis and diphtheria, and had taken much morphine and quinine, having exhausted his finances, in order to make good the deficit, resolved to ally himself to a complaisant, lenient, docile, young woman of the Caucasian race. ”

“ What is a new word?
One that has recently come into use.
84. Name some new words.
Outsider, intensify, repudiate, and idiom.
85. What is meant by suspended animation of a word?
A word that passes out of use for a while and then resumes its place in literature.
86. Give examples of suspended words.
The words reckless, abate, and abandon, fell into disuse in the seventeenth century, but have since been revived.
87. What letters are called the pivots?
Y and w.
88. Why are they so called?
Because of their peculiar sounds in changing from vowels to consonants. ”

“ A mature matron of medium height, and her comely daughter, soon entered the car, and took seats in front of Winthrop (who recalled having seen them on Tuesday, in February, in the parquet of a theater) . The young lady had recently made her debut into society at a musical soiree at her aunt's. She had an exquisite bouquet of flowers that exhaled sweet perfume. She said to her parent, "Mamma, shall we ever find my lost Leicester?"
11. Geoffrey immediately addressed her, saying, as he presented his card—
"Pardon my apparent intrusiveness; but, prithee, have you lost a pet dog?" ”

“ The gauger, who was also a trafficking rectifier and a parishioner of mine, preferring a woolen surtout (his choice was referrible to a vacillating, occasionally occurring idiosyncrasy) , wofully uttered this apothegm: "Life is checkered; but schism, apostasy, heresy and villainy shall be punished." The sibyl apologizingly answered: "There is a ratable and allegeable difference between a conferrable ellipsis and a trisyllabic diæresis." We replied in trochees, not impugning her suspicion.
SELECT READING.
1. ”

“ A style and tone which are entirely imitative in character.
254. What tone or character of voice is best suited to the rendering of Amusing selections?
That which will bring out the mirthful sentiment, to the exclusion of all rules for accent, emphasis, etc.
255. Should all persons use the same tones of voice and style in reading selections?
They should not; as individuals are differently constituted, so they have different ways of expressing their ideas and sentiments.
[pg 80]
MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. SPELLING ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED.
1. ”

“ Do we ever have two sets of Antitheses in the same sentence?
We do; as each member may contain an antithesis.
225. Give an example.
John was hurt; William escaped.
226. How many sets of Antitheses may be used in one sentence?
Often three; but seldom more.
[pg 77]
227. Should there be any difference in the tone of voice used in reading verse and prose?
There should be a difference.
228. What different style ought to be used?
The monotone and rising inflection are more frequently used in verse than in prose. ”

“ What is the signification of S.T.P.?
Doctor of Divinity.
[pg 40]
ACCENT AND PUNCTUATION.
1. Why is a word divided into syllables?
For the purpose of showing their proper pronunciation and etymological composition.
2. What is Accent?
A greater stress of voice placed on one syllable of a word than the others.
3. What kind of words have no accent?
Monosyllables.
4. Why?
Accent implies comparison, and there can be no comparison with one syllable. ”

“ Our Competitors will Concede That.
WE CLAIM More Reputation for Good Quality of Our Goods.
All Dealers will Concede That.
WE CLAIM Most for an Absolute Guarantee on Every Article we Make.
This we Concede to be one of our Most Attractive Features—one that is Almost Unreasonable in its Reasonableness.
Our SIGNAL SERIES is a new line from 40 varieties of staple stationery, and everything retails at 5 cents each. Ask your dealer for it. Send for illustrated list. ”

“ The piquant person was heaping contumely and scathing raillery on an amateur in jugular recitative, who held that the Pharaohs of Asia were conversant with his theory that morphine and quinine were exorcists of bronchitis. ”

“ THE MANUAL OF PHONOGRAPHY. [200th Thousand.] By BENN PITMAN and JEROME B. HOWARD. This work is designed for self-instruction in the phonographic art and is the proper book for the beginner. It contains a complete exposition of the system, from its simplest principles to the Reporting Style, arranged in alternate and opposite pages of explanation and phonographic exercises. Every principle is copiously illustrated with engraved examples for reading, and exercises in the ordinary type for writing practice. A large number of pages of engraved reading matter are included in the book. ”

“ What is an irregular derivative?
One in which the letters of the root are changed in forming the derivative.
41. What is Pronunciation?
The distinct utterance of the sounds of a word.
42. What are the significant parts of a word?
Root, prefix, and suffix.
[pg 59]
43. How are words divided as to variety?
Italic, Roman, Old English, etc.
44. Name some compound word in which both parts retain their own accent.
Writ'ing-mas'ter.
45. Name some word in which one part loses its accent.
Gentle-manly.
46. Can all the vowels form syllables themselves?
All except W.
47. ”

“ When melody comes in contact with accent, which should yield?
Accent.
150. Is there any other rhythmic pause than the Cæsura?
There is; the demi-cæsura is sometimes used.
151. How many kinds of Poetry are there?
Seven.
152. What are they?
Epic, Dramatic, Lyric, Elegiac, Didactic, Satiric and Pastoral.
153. What is an Epic poem?
A poetical recital of some great and heroic enterprise.
154. Are there many Epic poems?
There are not; most nations have one.
155. Name the three Epics of greatest note.
Homer's Iliad, Virgil's Æneid, and Milton's Paradise Lost. ”

“ To run the voice into too high a key, and thus weary the hearers.
246. What is a good rule by which to govern the voice?
To start on a key lower than the natural, and thus avoid running too high.
[pg 79]
247. What are the principal styles of different reading selections?
Descriptive, Narrative, Senatorial, Moral, Didactic, Dramatic, and Amusing.
248. What tone of voice should be used in reading a Descriptive selection?
The ordinary, natural tone, with a careful use of emphasis.
249. What tone of voice is best adapted to the reading of a Narration? ”

“ What are Cognate letters?
Those which are produced by the same organs of speech in a similar position.
75. Give an example of a Cognate letter.
D is a cognate of T.
76. What are Quiescent letters?
Those that are silent.
77. How many uses have Silent letters?
Five.
78. What are they?
To modify vowels; to modify consonants; to determine signification; to determine origin; and to distinguish words of like signification.
79. What are Explodents?
Those letters whose sound cannot be prolonged.
80. Name the Explodents.
B, D, G, J, P, Q, T, and K.
81. ”

“ Any great change in the Literature of a People.
[pg 57]
16. What causes these changes?
Mostly national invasion.
17. What is assimilation of Consonants?
When an aspirate and subvocal comes together, it is necessary to change the sound of one or the other, to make the combination pronounceable.
18. What is meant by an Element of Speech?
An indivisible portion of language.
19. What is a Sonant sound?
One uttered with intonated or resonant breath.
20. In changing the word traffic to trafficked, why supply the letter k?
To preserve the proper sound of c. ”