are separated by a semicolon, but not so independent as distinct sentences.

140. THE PERIOD or full stop (.), le Point, serves to shew that a sentence is complete and independent, not connected in construction with the following sen

tence.

141. THE NOTE OF INTERROGATION or Interrogative point (?), le point Interrogatif, is used at the end of sentences where a question is asked.

142. THE NOTE OF EXCLAMATION or Admiration (!); le point Exclamatif, is placed at the end of sentences denoting surprise, terror, or any other strong emotion. 143. THE INVERTED COMMAS ("), Guillemets, used to denote quotations, extracts, &c.

144. THE PARENTHESIS, la Parenthèse, serves to inclose a few words that, although they might be left out, yet tend, by remaining, to make the sense clearer or more extensive. See end of the "Third Division," a few more observations with examples.

145. THE BRACE, l'Accolade, is applied to parts of writing that require particular connection.

146. THE APOSTROPHE, l'Apostrophe, marked thus ('), in English points out the suppression of a part of the word, as well as of a single letter; in French it is never used but to supply the place of a, e, or i.

147. THE HYPHEN, le trait d'Union, marked thus (-), indicates that two or more words thus combined are to be pronounced as one.

148. THE DIERESIS, le Tréma, shews that two vowels, over the latter of which it is placed, should be pronounced separately, and form separate syllables.

149. CAPITALS, les Majuscules, should not be used indiscriminately.

150. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, paragraph, etc., should begin with a capital.

151. The first word of a period, and frequently after notes of interrogation and exclamation.

152. The names of the Deity.

153. Proper names of persons, places, ships, etc.

French adjectives alluding to national connections have no capitals: des dames françaises.

154. The first word of an example, and of a quotation.

155. The first word of every line in poetry. 156. The interjection O!

A FEW GENERAL DISCREPANCIES WORTHY OF BEING REMEMBERED BY BEGINNERS.

ON ALPHABETICAL PRONUNCIATION.

;

157. THE letter a never has in French the sound which it produces in the English words: all, fall, small, etc. nor that of a in: date, fate, mate. French che is never pronounced as it is heard in: church, ache, head-ache, etc. Final d in English words is invariably sounded in French, it is very often silent, and very frequently takes the sound of t: Pierre-le-grand; ce grand homme. The sound of e in: be, me, we, cannot be found in any French syllable; nor that of e in: her, per, stern. English final ƒ is always heard; the same French letter at the end of words is often left unarticulated, and is sometimes pronounced as a v: les neuf muses; j'ai dixneuf ans. English g is sometimes hard before e and i, as in: get, give; in French, g is always sounded as s in pleasure before e, i, and y; gelée, gilet, gymnase. The two French consonants g and j are never pronounced as alphabetical letters, like the two corresponding English letters, in the articulation of which a slight initial sound of d may be perceived. French h is very seldom so perceptibly aspirated as in the English words: hate and hedge. The French vowel i never has the sound which is given to it in the words: fir, stir, sir; nor that of i in pine, gripe, stripe. The consonant is never silent or liquid in English; in French it is both, frequently: Ce fusil me paraît meilleur que l'autre. The English vowel o of the words: do, move, wolf; dove,

love, above, has no such corresponding sound in French. There are no French terminations similar in sound to or of the words: favor, honor, sailor. Final English r is never silent; it is often so in_French: boulanger, cordonnier, serrurier, etc. The French consonant s has never the sound which is given to it in the English words: mission, pleasure, explosion. The sound of English th is totally unknown in the French language. Ti, in the English words: nation, notion, and tu, in: nature, future, have no equivalent ti or tu in French syllables of any kind. French words contain no sound of u similar to those in: flute, mute; tub, but, full, put, French final x is frequently silent: deux perdrix d'un grand prix. English final x is always heard box, tax, wax. In words purely English, x never has the sound of z; in French it often has: dix âmes, époux heureux. Z is often silent at the end of French words; it is never so at the end of English words: Venez me voir, donnez-moi cela.

SECOND DIVISION.

SIMILAR RULES IN LATIN AND FRENCH GRAMMAR.

THE subsequent Rules in Orthography, Etymology, and Syntax, are very nearly the same for French as well as for Latin composition.

158. TWENTY-FIVE LETTERS form each Alphabet : a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, x, y, z. In each alphabet there are six vowels: a, e, i, o, u, y. The rest of the letters are consonants.

159. VOWELS AND CONSONANTS are described very nearly alike in Latin, English, and French. So are also syllables and diphthongs, and the various properties of the parts of speech.

160. French diphthongs are not exactly pronounced as Latin. See French Diphthongs, in the "Third Division.'

161. A few French words ending with ère may have been derived from Latin words in ER: MATER, mère; PATER, père.

162. There are in Latin nine Parts of Speech: Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Participle, Adverb, Conjunction, Preposition, Interjection. The Article is omitted. In French there are ten, by admitting this last-mentioned. In French, six are declined: Article, Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Participle; in Latin, only five: Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Participle.

163. A Latin Noun-Adjective and a French Adjective have very nearly the same properties, and follow the same rules.

164. Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, and Participles have two Numbers, the Singular and the Plural. French Articles and Adjectives have also the same numbers.

NOTE. It is not improbable that the plural s added to French nouns originated in the plural es of Latin nouns of the third declension: PATRES, les pères; MATRES, les mères, etc.

165. For definitions of the terms, Number, Gender, Substantives proper, and Substantives common, see "First Division." They are the same in the three languages.

166. The Nominative case in Latin answers to the sujet in French. The Accusative is what French grammarians term complément direct, and régime direct.

167. The Genitive case, indicating possession, LIBER PETRI, is expressed in French by prefixing de before the noun possessor: LE LIVRE De Pierre.

168. The Dative, PATRI SIMILIS, is rendered in French by placing à before the article of nouns common: semblable au père, and the same preposition without the article before nouns proper: Je donne à Pierre ; DO PETRO.

169. The Accusative, already noticed, is represented by French nouns, common or proper, that immediately follow the verb, participle, or preposition that governs them: J'aime Dieu, AMO DEUM; Je vais à Rome, EO ROMAM; buvant le vin, BIBENS VINUM, etc.

170. The Vocative, FORMOSE PUER, in French, is merely the noun common or proper, given without any modification whatever: bel enfant, que me veux-tu ? Pierre, viens ici, etc.

171. The Ablative, MUSA, DOMINO, NUBE, LAPIDE, etc. can only be given in French by the insertion of suitable prepositions; as: de la table, par le seigneur, hors du nuage, avec la pierre, etc.

172. The Genders in Latin are three: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter; in French there are but two: Masculine and Feminine; no neuter. In both languages the masculine is considered (in grammatical composition only) worthier than the feminine.

In

173. It often happens that words which are masculine or neuter in Latin, are masculine in French. deed, one may receive as a general rule, that French