DIRECTIONS FOR READING WELL.

1. Recollect, when you read to please or instruct others, that your own instruction and amusement become only secondary considerations.

2. If you understand what you read, it will be easy to guide the minds of your hearers into an understanding of the same, and to read with propriety.

3. Let the chief excellence of your pronunciation consist in plainness and propriety, avoiding all affectation and vulgarity. 4. Elevate your voice so as to be heard by the more distant part of your audience, but not to exceed such a pitch as may be natural in itself, and agreeable to the whole audience. The voice in reading should never sink below the ordinary tone of conversation.

5. In public speaking let your voice be rather strong than weak, your utterance rather slow than quick, your rhetorical emphases rather few than many, and your gesticulation languid rather than violent.

6. Study rather to inflame the minds of your hearers by your own moderation, than by an intemperance of voice and action to overwhelm their understanding.

7. It is natural that loudness and slowness of voice should accompany each other in reading; and in like manner lowness and quickness.

8. The pauses in reading are regulated partly by the meaning, and partly by the use of stops. The comma is the shortest pause, the semicolon is twice as long, the colon thrice as long, and the period four times as long. There is a sort of imperceptible pause between all words, however closely connected. 9. Pronounce every syllable fully and distinctly, and let the final consonants be distinctly heard.

10. In general, the pronunciation of a discourse in public ought to be grave in the beginning, forcible in the middle, and animated towards the close.

11. Dishonour not your own eyes, nor the ears of your hearers, by reading compositions that are impious, seditious, nonsensical, quibbling, querulous, visionary, or enthusiastic. Truth requires no support from human weakness,

12. Peculiarity of manner in delivery is always allowable to a certain degree. A provincial or vulgar pronunciation, distorted looks, untoward gestures, and every thing that betrays distraction, timidity, or levity of mind, ought to be avoided by those who covet just applause. The first requisite in public speaking is modesty, and the second confidence.

DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING WELL.

As Learners are frequently at a loss for some printed instructions relative to both Penmanship and Letter-writing, and as little or no assistance is to be had on these subjects from the common elementary books of education, it was deemed advisable to introduce some general hints on these heads in this place, and they are submitted to the diligent perusal of youth.

I. Penmanship is an imitative art, and is to be learned only by attending closely to the instructions of your Teacher, and by carefully imitating his copies. If writing be done at all, it ought to be well done.

1. Strokes are either straight or crooked, thick or thin. The different letters of the alphabet generally contain each more or less of all the four kinds of strokes. Let that which ought to be made straight, or crooked, or thick, or thin, be made accordingly.

2. Strokes are also either long or short. The long should have a common length, whether they fall above or below the line, as in capitals, and the stems of b's, q's, &c. only that the upper part of the letters p and t in writing ought to be shorter than other stems. The length of long strokes is in round hand about double that of short ones: in running hand the proportion is still greater.

3. Let all your strokes be clear, and let them be, in general, straight as possible, equidistant, parallel, and sloping. But the turns at the top and bottom of a letter ought to be round, not angular or pointed. The slope should form an angle of from 51 to 56 degrees with the line on which you write.*

4. Learn to write a good round hand before you begin to write running haud; frequently practise round hand; and never write without lines. Write slowly at first. When you can write tolerably well, you will improve by writing faster.

5. Lift your hand from off the paper as seldom as possible, and never in the middle of a letter. All the strokes of the same word should be joined.

6. Neglect none of the minutiæ in writing, as dots to i's, strokes to t's, hyphens, apostrophes, points, &c.

7. If there be two or more ways of writing a letter or character, use only one of them, and adopt that which is most common, simple, and conformable to the Roman prototype.

8. Take care to avoid making mistakes or blots in your writing. It is generally better to correct with the pen alone, than with the pen and pen-knife together. But there are cases in which no correction can be allowed.

9. It is easier to learn to write in a sitting than in a standing posture. The position of the head, shoulders, arms, chest, and hands, is to be attended to. The head and chest ought to incline somewhat towards the writing, but the breast should not press against the desk or table on which you write. The elbows are to be kept moderately close to the body, and the arms are not to press heavily on the table. The pen must be held fairly to the paper, and gently pressed by the fingers; and the several motions of the pen are to be performed by the movement of the fingers, and not of the hand.

10. Learn to make your own pens, to rule your paper, and to use a round as well as a flat ruler. Make use of India rubber in cleaning your paper, and rubbing out black lead lines.

11. After finishing your writing, compare it with the copy, or with the rules here laid down, or with any other rules you may remember, and see that you improve in every performance.

* It has been found sometimes useful to apply a gnomon or ruler, which may be made of wood or any other convenient substance, cut to an angle of about fifty-six degrees, to the lines which are to be filled, for the purpose of drawing faint parallels to show the slopes correctly.

II. As Letters ought not to be written in a slovenly manner, so neither ought they to be composed in a careless style.

1. Consider whether your subject be compound or complex. A
compound subject requires that you begin with things past, that you
afterwards proceed to things present, and that you conclude with
things future.

2. A complex subject, in which there are two or more series of things in
the order of past, present, and future, requires that you treat of
each series separately, as if you were writing two or more letters.
In a complex subject the series may be either broken or complete.
3. A simple subject treats entirely of a thing that is past, present, or
future. It may sometimes be treated after the manner of a com-
pound subject, by viewing in the order of a series, the history, ap-
pearances, cause, end, uses, and advantages of the subject.

4. In private correspondence, when the subject is complex, it is proper
that business should precede pleasure, that private affairs should go
before public affairs, and that historic truth and certainty should
precede doubt and speculation.

5. Congratulations, thanks, complaints, are generally mentioned in the first part of a letter, owing, probably, to their relation to past time, and to the importance we wish to attach to them; and promises, presents, compliments, are mentioned last, on account, we may suppose, of modesty, and of their relation to futurity.

6. Represent both sides of a question fairly, whether they be favourable or unfavourable to your cause; because from truth partially spoken, or partially understood, do commonly arise more disputes, more animosities, and uncharitable dealings, than from any other cause whatever.

7. If you request a favour, take care that your request be reasonable.—
Shew that you uniformly study to deserve indulgences, that you
seldom ask for them, that you improve by them, or at least that
they have never been abused by you.

8. Do not introduce the same topic in different places of your letter.
9. Do not divide your letter in a formal manner. Sermons and long
discourses require to be divided, in order that they may be better
understood, and remembered: but a letter is a short composition,
and may be easily read over a second or third time, if occasion
require.

10. Do not express yourself abruptly, nor too copiously. The great, the busy, and the humble, generally write short letters; the grave, the gay, and the learned, long ones.

11. Consult the opinion of your friends concerning the merit of your juvenile performances. Be not too much elated by praise, and carefully amend what is faulty. An attention to the writing, stops, capitals, &c. is of course necessary.

12. Be regular in your correspondence with your friends, and exact in fulfilling your promises. On receiving a letter, either answer it immediately, or as soon after as you conveniently can.

· EXPLANATION OF ACCENTS, MARKS, AND FIGURES. Accents. The Hyphen (-) marks a long vowel; at the end of a line and elsewhere, it shews the continuation of a word, and it is sometimes used contractedly for m or n, as fate, for-tune, champió.

The Breve () marks a short vowel, as fancy.

The Grave Accent (') lays the emphasis on a long syllable, as minor, lively.

Accents are seldom to be met with in English, except in Dictionaries. They occur, however, in other languages, and their uses vary,

C

The Aeute Accent (') lays the emphasis on a short syllable, as river,

mineral.

The Circumflex Accent (~) either shews a vowel to be long, or denotes contraction, as Francis, Honble. a.

The Apostrophe (') denotes contraction, and more especially the elision of the vowels e ori, as se'ennight, loo'd, man's. The contractions 'tis, is't, can't, don't, shan't, 'em, &c. used for it is, is it, cannot, do not, shall not, them, &c. ought generally to be avoided as inelegant.

The Diæresis (") denotes separation, and shews that two vowels meeting together do not form a diphthong, as aerial, Capernäum.

Elision() shews that some letter is to be exterminated.

Marks. A section (§) shews the principal divisions of a discourse. A paragraph (¶) shews that the subject of discourse is changed. It is used chiefly in the Bible.--An index () refers to something remarkable.-Parenthesis () includes in a sentence something useful to elucidate the meaning, without perplexing the construction. It ought to be but seldom used.--Brackets or crotchets [ ] enclose a word or phrase by way of comment or interpolation to fix the meaning, and prevent mistakes. The seldomer they are used the better.--Braces (}) are used in tables, to connect things that have a common relation; as also at the end of triplets in poetry. A quotation ("") distinguishes words that have been formerly used by the writer himself, or by some other person.--Asterisms (****), Ellipsis (—), and Caret (▲) denote an omission or defect in the manuscript; besides which, the caret shews that the defect has been supplied by an interlineation.-References to marginal authorities are made in various ways, as by letters of the alphabet, by numerical figures, and by certain signs. The signs more frequently made use of are the asterisk (*), the obelisk (†), the dagger (+), the double dagger (†), and parallels (H).

or.,

:. The minus, or

Arithmetical Signs.—Adddition +, Subtraction -or, Multiplication x Division or a line — separating the Dividend or Numerator above, from the Divisor or Denominator below, and Proportion: :: sign of Addition + is named plus, that of Subtraction the difference between. The other signs signify multiplied by, divided by, and ; is to as: to. The sign signifies root, or square root.

Roman Notation.-One I, two II, three III, four IV, five V, six VI, seven VII, eight VIII, nine IX, ten X, twenty XX, thirty XXX, forty XL, fifty L, sixty LX, seventy LXX, eighty LXXX, ninety XC, a hundred C, two hundred CC, three hundred CCC, four hundred CD, five hundred D or [ɔ, six hundred DC, seven hundred DCC, eight hundred DCCC, nine hundred CM, a thousand M or CIO. In the Roman notation a less number placed before a greater is to be taken from it, but a less number placed after a greater is to be added to it; thus, IX. denotes nine, but XI. signifies eleven. Arabian Digits.-One 1, two 2, three 3, four 4, five 5, six 6, seven 7, eight 8, nine 9, nothing 0. The value of these figures encreases tenfold, a hundred fold, a thousand fold, &c. according to the order in which they are together taken.

Chemical Characters.---Gold O, silver D, mercury, copper, antimony *, iron, steel filings, tin 24, lead h, fire A, air A, earth V, water v, quicklime, sand, common salt, oil, sulphur 4, tartar, uitre D, vitriol, vinegear, caput mortuum

Apothecaries' Weight.-Pounds or pints lb, Ounces 3, drams 3, scruples 9, gr. grains, fs. half any thing.

Geographical Measures.--Degrees °, minutes, seconds".

Signs of the Ecliptic.-Aries Y, Taurus 8, Gemini п, Cancer, Leo N, Virgo m, Libra, Scorpio m. Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces. That is, the ram y, the bull 8, the twins II, the crab, the lion, the virgin mg, the balance, the scorpion m, the archer ↑, the goat's horn, the water bearer, the fishes X.

Planetary Characters.--The sun O, moen D, Mercury, Venus ?, the earth, Mars, Jupiter 2, Saturn, Herschel H, a star *.

COMMON ABBREVIATIONS EXPLAINED.

A. B. Bachelor of Arts. A. C. After Christ. A. D. In the Year of our Lord. A. M. Master of Arts; Before Noon; or In the Year of the World A. R. In the Reign of Queen Anne. B. Bath. B. A. Bachelor of Arts. B. C. Before Christ. B. D. Bachelor of Divinity. B. V. Blessed Virgin. C. A Hundred. C. C. Hartshorn. C. C. C. Corpus Christi College; or Hartshorn calcined. C. P. S. Keeper of the Privy Seal, C. R. Charles the King. C. S. Keeper of the Seal. D. Duke, Dukedom, Deanery, Doctor. D. C. L. Doctor of the Civil Law. D. D. Doctor in Divinity. E. East, Evening. Evangelist. F. A. S. or A. S. S. Fellow of the Antiquarian Society. F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal Society. F. R. S. E. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh G. R. George the King. I. H. S. Jesus Saviour of Men. L. D. Doctor of Law. J. R. James the King. K. King, or Kings. L. Lord, Lake, Book. L. D. Lady-day. L. L. D. Doctor of Laws. L. S. Place of the Seal. M. Morning, Mix. M. A. Master of Arts. M. D. Doctor of Medicine. M. P. Member of Parliament. M. S. Manuscript; or Sacred to Memory. MSS. Manuscripts. N. Note, North. N. B. Mark well. N. S. New Stile. O. Oliver. O.Š. Old Stile. P. Publius, President. P. M. Afternoon. P. S. Postscript. P. W. Prince of Wales, Q. Queen, Question. R. King. S. South. S. S. S. Stratum super Stratum, Layer above Layer. S. A. According to Art. S. N. According to Nature. SS. T F. Professor of Theology. V. Virgin. W. West. Abp. Archbishop. Admrs. Administrators. Agt. Against, Agent. Ap. Apostle. Aug. August. Bart. Baronet. Bp. Bishop. Capt. Captain. Cent. Centum, a Hundred. Ch. Chapter. Cit. Citadel, Citizen, City. Cl. Clergyman. Co. County, Company. Cochl. a spoonful, or half an ounce. Col. Colonel, College. Cong. a gallon, or eight pounds. Cr. Creditor. Cur. Curate. Curt. Current. Cwt. Hundred weight. Deut. Deuteronomy. Do. Ditto, the same Dr. Doctor, Debtor. Dum. Dukedom. Eliz. Elizabeth. Eng. English. Ep. Epistle. Esqr. Esquire. Ex. Exodus. Exp. Explanation, Exposition, Express. Feb. February. Fr. France, French. Gen. Genesis. Genmo. Generalissimo. Gent. Gentleman, Hhd. Hogshead. Honble. Honourable. Ja. James. Jac. Jacob. Jno. John. Km. Kingdom. Knt. Knight. Ld Lord. Lp. Lordship. Ldp. Ladyship. Lt. or Lieut. Lieutenant. Mastr. Master. Mr. Master. Mrs. Mistress. Messrs. Messieurs, or Sirs. No. Number. Oz. Ounces. Rev. Reverend. Rt. Right, St. Saint. Sr. Sir. Wp. Worship. Xian. Christian. Xmas. Christmas. a ana, of each. ääa, amalgamation. e. g. for example. gr. grains. h. s. at bed time. id. the same. i. e. that is, lib. book. Ib. pounds. m. a handful. n. 1. it does not appear. p. a pugil, or eighth part of a handful. p. æ. equal quantities. q. d. as if one should say. q. 1. as much as you please. q. s. as much as is sufficient. scil. to wit. v. verse. viz. namely. ye. the. yn. then. ys. this. &c. et cætera, and so

vid, see

forth.