A Course of Reading for common schools and the lower classes of academies

Front matter

A COURSE OF READING FOR COMMON SCHOOLS AND THE LOWER CLASSES OF ACADEMIES, ON THE PLAN OF THE AUTHOR'S "ELEMENTS OF READING AND ORATORY." BY H. MANDEV1LLE, PROFESSOR OF MORAL SCIENCE AND BELLES-LETTRES IN HAMILTON COLLEGE. NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & CO., 200 BROADWAY. PHILADELPHIA: G. S. APPLETON, 148 CHESNUT STREET. M DCCC Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by D. APPLETON & COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

Preface

. The following work is divided into three parts. The first relates to grammar : it contains a description of the dif ferent letters of the alphabet and their various sounds, of syllables, and also of words as parts of speech ; using that phrase in its tech nical sense. A knowledge of several of these (the relative pronoun, the adverb, the conjunction, and the participle) being necessary to render subsequent portions of the work intelligible, it struck me while drawing up a description of them, and explaining their func tions, that the pupil might be advantageously made acquainted with them all. Accordingly I have made this part of the work more com prehensive and systematic than I originally intended. It should be borne in mind, however, that this portion of the work is written, not for the purpose of making grammarians, but readers.

Consequently no more is introduced than may subserve that end ; and in a manner such as I thought best fitted to subserve it. The second part contains a classification and description of all the sentences or formulas of thought, in every degree of expansion, to be found in the English language. Each of these I have succes sively named and defined : then subjoined a long train of examples to be read, so arranged that in reading them the pupil begins with the shortest specimen, and, passing through longer and longer, con cludes with the longest and most complicated of the species. At proper intervals I have inserted a series of miscellaneous examples of the several species, previously described and read, as a severer exercise of his ingenuity and capacity in distinguishing them from one another by their characteristic properties.

The design of this part is mainly to make the pupil thoroughly acquainted with sentential structure. The delivery, however, should not be neglected, nor indeed can itbe ; for it flows so naturally and obviously from the structure, and is so uniform, apart from the modi fications of emphasis, that, I flatter myself, in view of much experience and observation, and more reflection, the mere knowledge of structure will contribute more to form a correct reader than all the instruction usually given in connection with the singularly unphilo sophical and inefficient method in use. The student is not left, how ever, to infer the delivery wholly from the structure ; I have intro duced a train of signs, explained at the beginning of this part of the

PREFACE.

. work, by which the more important movements of the voice are accurately and intelligibly represented. For specific rules I refer the teacher to my larger work, the " Elements of Reading and Oratory." Part third, the appropriate sequel of part second, contains a series of exercises on paragraphs : the sentences not detached and classed as in part second, but appearing in the connections and relations of ordinary discourse. All the knowledge of sentential structure hith erto obtained is here to be applied. The course to be pursued I have indicated in the partial specimens of rhetorical parsing appended to the first two sections. Before reading, or after having read a sentence, the pupil should be told to name and define the sentence : to say whether it is declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory ; and whether simple or compound ; and if compound, whether close, compact, or loose : if close, whether it has a series of members at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end : if compact, the same, and also whether it is a compact of the first, second, or third form ; stating the correlative words : if loose, whether it is perfect or im perfect ; continually defining, and, in short, giving in each case, and at every successive step, all the information communicated in the first and second part.

To facilitate this process, the sentences in each piece have been carefully numbered in the margin ; and occa sionally, where the sentence presented unusual difficulties, I have subjoined to the end of the section a word or two of explanation. The selections for this part of the work, which does not differ ma terially from the common reading-book, have been made with distinct reference to fulness of sentential illustration, and to variety both of style and of subject matter : particulars in which most reading-books are extremely deficient ; some of them containing only a few, com paratively speaking, of the numerous sentences existing in the lan guage, and these few with but slight and accidental differences of expansion ; and others, excluding wholly several species of reading with which it is as important that the pupil should become familiar, as it is that he should become familiar with any : species frequently occurring in books and in the less durable issues of the periodical press, and hence justly claiming a place in an elementary course of instruction.

Before closing this preface I may be permitted to point out, for the .grave consideration of those who are engaged like myself in the laborious, but honorable avocation of teaching, some of the results to which, if I mistake not, the use of this book, and a diligent applica tion of the method it proposes to substitute for the prevailing one, will necessarily lead ; nor for the consideration of such only ; but of all who acknowledge any degree of interest in having the young ac quire the largest amount of information in the shortest time and a the least possible expense.

PREFACE.

. 5 1. It will impart a kind of knowledge which can be acquired in no other way, and which indeed no one has hitherto attempted to teach : a knowledge of sentential structure ; of the anatomy, the bones, nerves, and muscles of the language ; of the various forms of expres sion which thought assumes in obtaining utterance in conversation or books. 2. It lays a foundation in the nature of things, in the very struc ture of language, for a correct, intelligent, and graceful delivery, in reading and speaking. In my " Elements of Reading and Oratory" I have been at great pains to show this ; and to that work I refer the teacher for additional information : being confident that he cannot peruse, and thoroughly digest what I have there advanced, without being convinced that the structure of sentences determines their de livery, with such modifications only as emphasis, the laws of which are few and simple, may produce. 3.

It will prepare the pupil for the study of grammar. There are few teachers, I presume, who have not felt the want of an interme diate stage of instruction between that study and reading : of some thing to bridge the chasm between the two, and render the transition from the one to the other less abrupt and difficult. To pass at once, with a mere capacity to put the words of a sentence together and make sense out of them, to the study of grammar, is equivalent to a leap from arithmetic numeration to the abstractions of algebra. Perceiving this, not a few teachers of eminence have recommended the study of the Latin language, as a preparation for that of English grammar ; and in the present state of things, the recommendation is, in my opinion, a judicious one. I distinctly remember, that I myself obtained more knowledge of the principles of English grammar from a few weeks' study of the Latin, than I obtained during a year of previous application to the English alone.

But the study of Latin is not pursued in our common schools ; and if it were, an immense majority of the youth taught in them have neither the means, time, nor inclination to pursue it. If possible, therefore, a substitute should be provided. In the following work I have attempted this ; and it cannot be read, I think, more than once, certainly not more than twice through, if read with any degree of care, without fixing in the mind of the pupil same very important grammatical ideas ; and this while yet ignorant, perhaps, of what the word " grammatical" means. In the first place, he will learn the name and properties of the dif ferent parts of speech, together with the places they occupy and the connections they form, in a sentence. In the second place, he will acquire a better, more comprehensive knowledge of some parts of speech, than he could from the grammar itself : at least from any grammar which I have seen. I refer par- 1'

PREFACE.

. ticularly to the relative pronoun, the adverb, the conjunction, and the interjection. He will not only learn the names of these, and to re cognise them when they appear, but the connections they form, their special import in every connection, and the relations and various modifications of thought they serve to express. In the third place, having a knowledge, such as this work only can impart, of every variety of sentential structure, the pupil is prepared, whenever a fragmentary sentence appears, to say without hesitation whether it is fragmentary or not, and to supply what is necessary to complete the construction ; and hence to declare the particular relation and government of the words expressed. To parse the following fragment would puzzle, if I mistake not, even a mature gram marian : To die — to sleep !

To sleep ! perchance, to dream. Is to die to be treated as an infinitive or a noun ? What governs to sleep in each of the two instances of its occurrence . What governs to dream? To these questions it is difficult, without a knowledge of sentential structure, to return an answer : with it we readily supply the suppressed portions of the sentence, and the parsing necessarily follows thus : To die is to sleep ; but if to die is to sleep, then perchance, it is [also] to dream. 4. But the great advantage to be derived from the use of my method respects composition. As it secures a knowledge of the parts of speech, of the construction of sentences, that is to say, of every form of sentence employed in the expression of human thought, so it necessarily secures a knowledge of all those materials which the pupil is to employ in writing.

He will know what words are, grammatically considered, and what their relations : he will know the nature of the sentence he writes, and how it should be construct ed : how it may be enlarged, diminished, or varied, without changing its structure : how the same thought may be expressed with a different structure, and what that structure is : how different structures may be combined in the same sentence, and how separated : how suc cessive sentences should be connected, and what kind of connection, or what succession of the varieties of structure is most agreeable to the ear : in short, with such a knowledge of structure as this work will impart, if intelligently and diligently used, the pupil, in entering on the work of composition, will enjoy the advantages of an artisan, who, before beginning the processes of his trade, is already versed in the nature and uses of its tools. 5.

A general adoption of the method of instruction proposed in this work will effect, I am confident in view of an experience ex tended through several years, a great saving both of time and money

PREFACE.

. The prevailing method is one of long-continued and vague repetition, wholly unconnected with principles : a series of listless rehearsals, which convey to the mind of the pupil not one artistic idea. There is scarcely room for surprise, therefore, that he should be learning to read during the whole period between his fifth and his fifteenth year, with no certainty of being a good reader after all : still less that the expense of instruction and of books should be regarded by his parent as a serious inroad on his pecuniary means. The method which I propose to substitute for this is a scientific method. It deals with principles as well as facts. It is progressive. Each principle successively laid down, prepares the way for other principles which are to follow ; and these principles collectively taken exhaust the subject.

Every sentence in the language is described ; and every sentence has its own delivery. The structure learned therefore, the delivery is learned ; and once learned by one, two, or at most three reviews, it is learned forever. Henceforward as soon as a sentence falls under the observation of the pupil, he knows how it should bo read ; and while he can read it, he can give a solid reason for its be ing read in that particular manner. Now a method like this, it will be admitted, must greatly abridge the time usually occupied in learning to read ; and by so much as the time is abridged, the cost of an education \\ ill be reduced, and parents relieved from a burden of expense which many of them can ill bear, or enabled, at the same expense, to give their children an opportunity of pursuing other branches of useful study from which they are now " quite shut out."

I may add, that the adoption of this method will supersede the present wasteful practice of frequently changing or renewing books ; by which parents are taxed without reason and against reason, some fifteen or twenty dollars or more for every child they educate : making an aggregate of loss to the state, annually, of many thousands of dollars. A scientific method of in struction removes the usual motives for changing books ; and by fa cilitating the process of learning to read, and thus abridging the period of study, it renders a renewal of the same books, where ordinary care is taken for their preservation, unnecessary. With this brief exposition of the contents, and of what much observation and experience have taught me to believe are the bearings of the following work, I submit it to the judgment of a candid pub lic : cherishing the hope that it may be deemed a real accession to the means of instruction employed in our common schools and acade mies.

Hamilton College, June 1st, 1846. READING. Reading is the process of conveying ideas, from a manu script or book, to our own minds or the minds of others. It is either silent or vocal : generally silent when we con vey ideas to our own minds; always vocal when we convey them to the minds of others. Reading as a vocal process only, is the subject of this work. The medium of conveying ideas in manuscripts or books, is a conventional system of signs, and in reading, a corresponding system of articulations, called language. Language consists of letters, syllables, words, sentences and paragraphs, or discourse. For the sake of convenience, I separate these into three general divisions or parts. Part First contains a description of letters, syllables, and words. Part Second contains a classification and description of sentences.

Part Third contains a series of paragraphs in sections for exercise. PART FIRST. LETTERS, SYLLABLES, AND WORDS. I.— LETTERS. A letter is a character, written or printed, which repre sents an articulate sound ; or a sound of the human voice in speaking. Letters are divided into vowels and consonants. I. A vowel is a letter which may be uttered alone, or in connection with another vowel. The vowels are seven in number ; namely, a, e, i, o, u, y, and w. Obs. 1. The vowels which are heard only in connection with other vowels, are i alphabetical, and u alphabetical, and w . E is heard after i, and before u : hence these are sometimes called compound vowels. W is never vocal except when pre ceded by another vowel. Obs. 2. I, y, and w, are sometimes consonants : . in a few positions only ; as in Indian, Chnst-ian, pin-ion, fil-ial ; where it has the sound of y consonant : y and w are always consonants at the beginning of syllables.

The following tables contain a description of the different vowel sounds : — Obs. For the reasons which have induced me to adopt a new nomenclature, to enumerate some sounds not enumerated by others as regular, and to vary from others in the derivation of some of the short vowels, I refer the teacher to the 44 Elements of Reading and Oratory. 1. A has eight sounds. 1. Alphabetical, - as heard in ■ game, debate. any, many, miscellany, herbage. care, dare, fare. 2. " short, 3. Middle, 4. " short, 5. Flat, liar, regular, inward. father, calm. that, glass. all, law, salt. 6. " short, 7. Broad, 8. " short, what, want, was. 2. E has five sounds. 1. Alphabetical, 2. " short, 3. " a short, > 4. Middle a, 5. " a short, . ' me, theme. pretty, been, England, faces, linen. < bet, end, sell. where, there, ere, e'er, ne'er. . herd, merchant. as heard in 3. / has four sounds. 1.

Alphabetical, "1 2. " e, I 3. " e short, .' 4. Middle a short, j chide, decide. J machine, caprice. 1 chin, wit, hill. L bird, flirt, virtue. as heard in 4. O has six sounds. ' tone, droll. love, money, other. do, move. j woman, wolf. cost, former, nor. . not, robber. 1. Alphabetical, 2. " short, 3. Muffled, 4. " short, 5. Broad a, 6. " a short, a. heard in 5. V has five sounds. 1. Alphabetical, 2. Muffled o short, 3. Alphabetical o short, > 4. " e short, 5. Middle a short, . ' mule, pure. full, push. < dull, tub. busy, minute, and their compounds. . bury, and its compounds. as heard in 6. Y, when a vowel, has four sounds. 1. Alphabetical i, "1 f my, tyrant. 2" " e I _. _ heard in J fanCy' enVy 3. « e short, s as lieard ln 1 lyric, system. 4. Middle a short, J L myrtle. 7. W, as a vowel, has no independent sound.

It becomes vocal only in conjunction with another vowel with which it forms a diphthong ; as in blow, cow, howl, scowl. The vowels frequently appear in combinations called diphthongs and triphthongs. 1. A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one articula tion ; as ou in sour. 2. A triphthong is a union of three vowels in one articulation ; as eau in beau. Both diphthongs and triphthongs are divided into proper and improper. 1. Proper diphthongs and triphthongs blend their vowels and form one sound ; as ou in sour and eau in beau : improper have only one of their vowels vocal ; as ea in beat, eau in beauty. TABLES OF DIPHTHONGAL AND TRIPHTHONGAL SOUNDS. 1 . Aa, ae, ai, au, aw, ay. 1. Aa has two sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a, } . , . ( Aaron. 2. Of flat a short, I as neard ,u \ Balaam, Isaac. 2.

Ae has one sound ; viz. of alphabetical e ; as heard in Æneas, Cæsar. 3. Ai has three sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a, } ( ail. 2. " " a short, > as heard in 1 said, again. 3. " flat a short, > ( Plaid, raillery. 4. Au has four sounds. 1. Of flat a short, ~| f aunt, laugh. I « b™ ' " S. f - heard in \ -^ 4. " alphabetical o, J L hautboy. 5. Aw has always one sound ; viz., of broad a long ; as in bawl, crawl, scrawl. 6. Ay has always tho sound of alphabetical a long ; as in bay, day, delay. 2. Ea, eau, ee, ei, eo, eou, eu, ew, ey. 1. Ea has six sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a long, 2. " " a short, 3. " middle a long, I 4. " " a short, ' 5. " flat a long, 6. " alphabetical e long, . j" break. I meadow. J bear. earth, earl. hearken. . appear. as heard in 2. Eau has two sounds. 1. Of alphabetical o long, ) 2.

" " u, \ S beau, portmanteau. I beauty, and its compounds. as heard hi 3. Ee has two sounds. 1. Of alphabetical e long, ) 2. " " e short, J J beet. \ been, breeches. as heard in 4. Ei has six sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a long, 2. " " a short, 3. " middle a long, I 4. " alphabetical e long, | 5. " " e short, 6. " " i, ' deign, veil. heifer, nonpareil. heir, their. receive. foreign, forfeit _ height. as heard in 5. Eo has four sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a short, "| s leopard. 2- " e }onS' I as heard in \ Pe°Ple 3. " " o long, | j yeoman 4. " " o short, J (. surgeon; yeoman. surgeon, dungeon. 6. Eou, when a triphthong, has but one sound ; viz., of alphabetical o short ; as in righteous, gorgeous. 7. Eu has the sound of alphabetical u ; as in deuce, deuteronomy, feud. It is often erroneously pronounced like oo. 8.

Ew has two sounds. 1. Of alphabetical o long, ) , , . \ shew, sew. 2. « « u, $ "=<"" dew, mew. Like «u, it is often erroneously pronounced oo. 9. Ey has three sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a long, i C bey, prey. 2. " " e long, > as heard in < key, alley. 3. " " i, J t eye. 3. la, ie, ieu, iew, io, iou. 1. la, when a diphthong, has the sound of alphabetical e short ; as in marriage, carriage. 2. Ie, when a diphthong, has four sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a short, "| s friend. 2- " " e l0DS' [ aS heard in J chief 3. « « e short, [ s n 1 sieve, species. 4. " " i, J L die. 3. leu has the sound of alphabetical u; as in lieu, adieu, purlieu. 4. lew has also the sound of alphabetical u ; as in view, review. 5. Io, when a diphthong, has the alphabetical o short sound of u ; as in marchioness, cushion. 6.

Iou, when a triphthong, has the sound of alphabetical o short ; as in precious, vexatious. It is often incorrectly pronounced after dasa triphthong ; as in tedious, spoken as if written te-je-ous or te-jus. 4. Oa, oe, oeu, oi, oo, ou, ow, oy. 1. Oa has two sounds. 1. Of broad a long, ) . , • J broad, groat. 2. " alphabetical o long, $ aa nearQ \ boat, road. 2. Oe has five sounds. 1. Of alphabetical a short, "] f œcumenic, foetid. 2. " " e long, fœtus, œiliad. 3. " " o long, y as heard in < foe, hoe. 4. " " o short, does. 5. " muffled o long, J L canoe, shoe. feetus, œiliad. foe, hoe. does. canoe, shoe. 3. Oeu has the sound of muffled o long ; as in manœuvre. 4. Oi has six sounds. 1. Of middle a short, 2. " broad a and of al- ) phabetical . long "J 3. " alphabetical e long, > 4. " " e short, 5.

" " i, 6. " w and broad a long, 5. Oo has four sounds. avoirdupois. boil, toil. as heard in . chamois, turcois. connoisseur, tortoise. choir. devoir, reservoir. 1. Of alphabetical o long, "| 2. " " o short, I 3. " muffled o long, | 4. " i' o short, J 6. Ou has six sounds. {door, floor. blood, flood. fool, moon, rood. hood, root. as heard in L* - as heard in - bound, doubt, cloud, hour. thought. 2. Of broad a long, 3. " alphabetical o long, 4. " " o short, 5. " muffled o long, 6. " " o short, mourn, though. enough, tough. soup, through. could, would. 7. Ow has three sounds. 1* , 2. Of broad a short, > 3. " alphabetical o long, > C cow, brown. as heard in 2 knowledge. t blow, blown. 8. Oy has only one sound ; as iu cloy, boy. viz., that of broad a and alphabetical e long ; 5. TJa, ue, ui, vo, uoy, uy. 1.

Ua has three sounds. 1. Of w and alph. a long, 1 f assuage, persuade. 2- " flat a long, V as heard in \ guard, piquant. 3. " alphabetical e short, ) ( victuals, victualer. * This sound has no representative. 2. Ve has four sounds. 1. Of w and alph. a short, ") s quench, conquest. 2. " alphabetical a short, , , . coquet, guest. a a mfjji u . r as heard in < 6 , o. middle a short, [ ] conquer, guerdon. 4. " alphabetical u, ) (^ ague, hue. It is sometimes mute ; as in antique, dialogue, &c. 3. Ui has four sounds. 1 Oslo and alph. e short, ") (" languid, vanquish. 2. " alphabetical e short, 1 , , . ,' guilt, guinea. q i, ,. }■ as heard in < B .,' &,. o. i, guide, disguise. 4. " " u, J L juice, pursuit. 4. Uo has two sounds. 1. Of w and alph. o long, ) , , . $ quote, quotation. 2. " to and alph. o short, £ aS sieara m j quoth. 5. -Toy has one sound : viz., of w and broad a and _ long ; or of to and oi in boil.

It occurs only in one word : buoy. 6. Vy has three sounds. 1. Of to and alph. e long, J ( obloquy, colloquy. 2. " alphabetical . long, > as heard in < plaguy, roguy. 3. " " i, ) f buy, and its derivatives. II. A consonant is a letter which, as the name implies, can not be sounded without the aid of a vowel. The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, i, j, k, I, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z ; to which must be added tit, ch, sh, zh, wh, ng : being plainly ele mentary sounds, and as such belonging to the alphabet, though not formally included in it. Consonants may be divided into two classes : real conso nants, and substitutes. By a real consonant, is meant that which has a peculiar and determinate sound of its own, though it may assume that of another letter or a combination of letters ; and by a substitute, one which has no peculiar and determinate sound of its own, but uniformly represents that of some other letter or combination of letters. 1.

The real consonants are, b, d,f, g, h,j, k, I, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z, ch, sh, th, wh, ng. Real consonants are either unchangeable or changeable. Unchangeable consonants are those which uniformly have the same sound : changeable, those which, besides having their peculiar sounds, in certain positions assume other sounds. A consonant is not changeable because in one or two instances it may assume another sound ; (which may be merely a vicious effect of custom ;) but only when it assumes another sound, ui the same position in all words, or generally ; and hence when this assumption can be traced to a general law. 1. The unchangeable are, _>,/, h, j, k, I, m,p, r, v, w, y, sh, th, wh. 1. B. Its sound is heard in rebel, robber, cub. After m, (except in accumb, succumb, rhomb,) and before t, in the same syllable, it is silent ; as in lamb, bomb, thumb, debtor, doubt, subtle. 2.

F. F is heard infancy, muffin. In of, but not in its compounds, it has the sound of v. 3. H. This letter is merely a strong breathing, which may be heard in hat, horse, hedge. At the beginning of the words, heir, herb, honest, hour, after r, as in rhomb, rhetoric, and at the end of a word preceded by a vowel, as in ah, oh, it is silent. In many words it is suppressed where it should be heard ; as in hostler, humble, exhale, exhibit, exhort, exhaust, exhilarate, &c. 4. J. The sound of j is heard in James, jelly. It has the sound of y in hallelujah. 5. K. The sound of k is heard in keep, skirt, murky. Before n, it is mute ; as in knife, knew. 6. L. This letter has a soft liquid sound ; as in sorrel, billow, love. It is often silent before d, f, k, m, and v; as in could, calf, talk, balm, salve. 7.

M. Mis heard in man, deem, murmur. In comptroller it has the sound of n ; and in mnemonic, it is silent. 8. P. The sound of p is heard in pay, lip, puppy. It is silent before n, between m and t, and before s and . at the beginning of words ; as in pneumatics, tempt, psalm ; and also in the words, corps, raspberry, receipt. 9. R. The sound of this letter is heard in rage, brim stone, hurra. 10. V. The sound of v is heard in vain, levity, relieve. It is silent in sevennight. 1 1 . W. W is heard in want , reward. In answer, sword, and before r, as in lorap, wreck, wrong, it is silent. 12. Y. The sound of y is heard in yonder, &c. 13. Sh. The peculiar sound of sh is heard in short, relish. 14. Th. This combination has two sounds : the one sharp, as in think, with; the other flat, as in them, clothe.