SPELLING is the art of expressing a word by its proper letters.
The following rules are deemed important in practice, although they
assist us in spelling only a small portion of the words of our language.
This useful art is to be chiefly acquired by studying the spelling-book
and dictionary, and by strict attention in reading.
RULE I. Monosyllables ending in _f, l_, or _s_, double the final or
ending consonant when it is preceded by a _single_ vowel; as _staff,
mill, pass_. Exceptions; _of, if, is, as, lids, was, yes, his, this,
us_, and _thus_.
_False Orthography for the learner to correct_.--Be thou like the
gale that moves the gras, to those who ask thy aid.--The aged hero
comes forth on his staf; his gray hair glitters in the beam.--Shal
mortal man be more just than God?--Few know the value of health til
they lose it.--Our manners should be neither gros, nor excessively
refined.
And that is not the lark, whose notes do beat
The vaulty heaven so high above our heads:
I have more care to stay, than wil to go.
RULE II. Monosyllables ending in any consonant but _f, l_, or _s_, never
double the final consonant when it is preceded by a _single_ vowel; as,
_man, hat_. Exceptions; _add, ebb, butt, egg, odd, err, inn, bunn,
purr_, and _buzz_.
_False Orthography_.--None ever went sadd from Fingal.--He rejoiced
over his sonn.--Clonar lies bleeding on the bedd of death.--Many a
trapp is set to insnare the feet of youth.
The weary sunn has made a golden sett,
And, by the bright track of his golden carr,
Gives token of a goodly day to-morrow.
RULE III. Words ending in _y_, form the plural of nouns, the persons of
verbs, participial nouns, past participles, comparatives, and
superlatives, by changing _y_ into _i_, when the _y_ is preceded by a
_consonant_; as, _spy, spies; I carry, thou carriest, he carries;
carrier, carried; happy, happier, happiest_.
The present participle in _ing_, retains the _y_ that _i_ may not be
doubled; as, _carry, carrying_.
But when _y_ is preceded by a _vowel_, in such instances as the above,
it is not changed into _i_; as, _boy, boys; I cloy, he cloys_; except
in the words _lay, pay_, and _say I_ from which are formed _laid, paid_,
and _said_; and their compounds, _unpaid, unsaid_, &c.
_False Orthography_.--Our fancys should be governed by reason.--Thou
wearyest thyself in vain.--He denyed himself all sinful pleasures.
Win straiing souls with modesty and love;
Cast none away.
The truly good man is not dismaied by poverty.
Ere fresh morning streak the east, we must be risen to reform yonder
allies green.
RULE IV. When words ending in _y_, assume an additional syllable
beginning with a consonant, the _y_, if it is preceded by a consonant,
is commonly changed to _i_; as, _happy, happily, happiness_.
But when _y_ is preceded by a vowel, in such instances, it is very
rarely changed to _i_; as, _coy, coyless; boy, boyish; boyhood; joy,
joyless, joyful_.
_False Orthography_.--His mind is uninfluenced by fancyful
humors.--The vessel was heavyly laden.--When we act against
conscience, we become the destroiers of our own peace.
Christiana, mayden of heroic mien!
Star of the north! of northern stars the queen!
RULE V. Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable,
ending with a single consonant that is preceded by a single vowel,
double that consonant when they assume another syllable that begins
with a vowel; as, _wit, witty; thin, thinnish; to abet, an abetter_.
But if a diphthong precedes, or the accent is _not_ on the last
syllable, the consonant remains single; as, _to toil, toiling; to offer,
an offering; maid, maiden_.
_False Orthography_.--The business of to-day, should not be defered
till to-morrow.--That law is annuled.--When we have outstriped our
errors we have won the race.--By defering our repentance, we
accumulate our sorrows.--The Christian Lawgiver has prohibited many
things which the heathen philosophers allowed.
At summer eve, when heaven's aerial bow
Spans with bright arch the glitterring hills below.--
Thus mourned the hapless man; a thunderring sound
Rolled round the shudderring walls and shook the ground.
RULE VI. Words ending in double _l_, in taking _ness, less, ly_, or
_ful_, after them, generally omit one _l_; as, _fulness, skilless, fully
skilful_.
But words ending in any double letter but _l_, and taking _ness, less,
ly_, or _ful_, after them, preserve the letter double; as,
_harmlessness, carelessness, carelessly, stiffly, successful_.
_False Orthography_.--A chillness generally precedes a fever.--He is
wed to dullness.
The silent stranger stood amazed to see
Contempt of wealth and willful poverty.
Restlesness of mind impairs our peace.--The road to the blisful
regions, is as open to the peasant as to the king.--The arrows of
calumny fall harmlesly at the feet of virtue.
RULE VII. _Ness, less, ly_, or _ful_, added to words ending in silent
_e_, does not cut it off; as, _paleness, guileless, closely, peaceful_;
except in a few words; as, _duly, truly, awful_.
_False Orthography_.--Sedatness is becoming.
All these with ceasless praise his works behold.
Stars rush: and final ruin fiercly drives
Her ploughshare o'er creation!
------Nature made a pause,
An aweful pause! prophetic of her end!
RULE VIII. When words ending in silent _e_, assume the termination,
_ment_, the _e_ should not be cut off; as, _abatement, chastisement_.
_Ment_, like other terminations, changes _y_ into _i_ when the _y_ is
preceded by a consonant; as, _accompany, accompaniment; merry,
merriment_.
_False Orthography_.--A judicious arrangment of studies facilitates
improvment.--Encouragment is greatest when we least need it.
To shun allurments is not hard,
To minds resolv'd, forwarn'd, and well prepared.
RULE IX. When words ending in silent _e_, assume the termination, _able_
or _ible_, the _e_ should generally be cut off; as, _blame, blamable;
cure, curable; sense, sensible_. But if _c_ or _g_ soft comes before _e_
in the original word, the _e_ is preserved in words compounded with
_able_; as, _peace, peaceable; change, changeable_.
_False Orthography_.--Knowledge is desireable.--Misconduct is
inexcuseable.--Our natural defects are not chargable upon us.--We
are made to be servicable to others as well as to ourselves.
RULE X. When _ing_ or _ish_ is added to words ending in silent
_e_, the _e_ is almost always omitted; as, _place, placing; lodge,
lodging; slave, slavish; prude, prudish_.
_False Orthography_.--Labor and expense are lost upon a droneish
spirit.--An obligeing and humble disposition, is totally unconnected
with a servile and cringeing humor.
Conscience anticipateing time,
Already rues th' unacted crime.
One self-approveing hour, whole years outweighs
Of stupid starers, and of loud huzzas.
RULE XI. Compound words are generally spelled in the same manner as the
simple words of which they are compounded; as, _glasshouse, skylight,
thereby, hereafter_. Many words ending in double _l_, are exceptions to
this rule; as, _already, welfare, wilful, fulfil_; and also the words,
_wherever, christmas, lammas, &c_.
_False Orthography_.--The Jew's pasover was instituted in A.M.
2513.--They salute one another by touching their forheads.--That
which is some times expedient, is not allways so.
Then, in the scale of reasoning life 'tis plain,
There must be, somwhere, such a rank as man.
Till hymen brought his lov-delighted hour,
There dwelt no joy in Eden's rosy bower.
The head reclined, the loosened hair,
The limbs relaxed, the mournful air:--
See, he looks up; a wofull smile
Lightens his wo-worn cheek awhile.