All words of one syllable ending in 1, with a single vowel before it, have ll at the close, as mill, sell.

All words of one syllable ending in 7, with a double vowel before it, have only one l at the close, as mail, sail.

The words foretell, distill, instill and fulfill, retain the double of their primitives. Derivatives of dull, skill, will, and full, also retain the ll when the accent falls on these words, as dullness, skillful, willful, fullness.

Words of more than one syllable ending in I have only one i at the close, as delightful, faithful, unless the accent falls on the last syllable, as in befall, etc.

Words ending in l, double that letter in the termination ly.

Participles ending in ing, from verbs ending in e, lose the final e, as have, having; make, making, etc.; but verbs ending in ee retain both, as see, seeing. The word dye, to color, however, must retain the e befor ing.

Words ending in oe retain the final e, as shoe, shoeing; hoe, hoeing.

All verbs ending in ly, and nouns ending in ment, retain the final of the primitives, as brave, bravely; refine, refinement; except words ending in dge, as acknowledge, acknowledgment.

Nouns ending in y, preceded by a vowel, form their plural by adding 8, as money, moneys; but if y is preceded by a consonant, it is changed to ies in the plural, as bounty, bounties.

Compound words whose primitives end in y, change the y into i, as beauty, beautiful.

RULES FOR THE USE OF CAPITALS

A very common fault is the improper use or omission of capital letters. Persons liable to make such mistakes should study attentively the rules given below on the subject and then carefully apply them.

Most words commence with small letters. Capitals must be used only when required by the following rules:

The first word of every sentence and the first word of every line of poetry should begin with a capital letter.

All proper names should begin with capital letters. Words derived from proper names begin with a capital. Every word that denotes the Deity should begin with a capital. Pronouns relating to the Deity should generally commence with a capital.

The months of the year and the days of the week begin with capitals.

The words north, south, east, west, and their compounds and abbreviations, as North-West, commence with capitals when they denote a section of country.

The pronoun I, and the interjection O, are always capitals. Every direct quotation should begin with a capital letter. All titles of persons begin with capitals.

All the principal words in the titles of books should begin with capital letters.

The several chapters or other divisions of any book begin with capitals.

Common nouns personified begin with capital letters.

Any word particularly important may begin with a capital letter.

All words denoting religious denominations begin with capital letters.

In all kinds of advertisements nearly all the leading words usually begin with capitals.

In accounts each article mentioned should begin with a capital. In formal addresses to dignitaries, terms used instead of the name should be capitalized; as, Mr. President, Your Honor, Your Majesty.

The word immediately following the address of a letter should begin with a capital; as, Dear Sir, My dear Sir, Friend, Mother.

The formal phrase ending a letter should begin with a capital; as, Sincerely yours, Yours truly.

Rules for the Use of Italics

Italics, without quotation marks, are used in the names of vessels; as, the Merrimac, the Titanic.

Foreign words that have not come into general use in the English language, should be printed in italics; as, agnomen, demoiselle, masseur.

Foreign words and phrases commonly used in English writings and speech, need not be in italics; as, alias, chapeau, chauffeur, massage, regime, post-mortem, pro rata.

In giving credit to a newspaper or magazine at the end of a paragraph, italics, without quotation marks, should be used; as, the New York Tribune, Current Literature.

In making reference to an author and his work, italics should be used for the title of the book; as, Lew Wallace, Ben Hur.

In botany and zoology, the foreign words denoting genus or species should be capitalized; as, Primula veris, Rana hale cina.

Penmanship

It is a lamentable fact that perhaps no part of the education of the youth of America in our public schools is so sadly neglected as their penmanship, not because it is least important, but because so few teachers have acquired a good hand themselves or know how to impart correct principles of writing.

Its Importance.-To be able to write a good business hand often means the opening of doors of opportunity that would otherwise be closed, to young people desirous of making progress in the business world.

Ofttimes a letter is all the recommendation a young man has in applying for a position, and if it be poorly written his chances of being accepted are usually correspondingly poor. At the

same time our friends and all with whom we may have occasion to correspond judge us more or less by the style of our writing

P. R. SPENCER'S LOG SEMINARY, GENEVA, OHIO

Penmanship not a Gift.-While it is easier for some than for others to acquire a good hand-writing, it is by no means a gift. Penmen, like poets, are born, but penmanship, like the ability to walk, is an after accomplishment which all may acquire if they begin in time and on right principles.

If you are willing to pay the price you may become a good writer. A little time each day for a few months devoted to intelligent practice will bring results that will astonish the poorest scrawler.

How to Begin.-Procure a plentiful supply of good foolscap paper, penholder with cork grip, pens of medium or fine points and good black ink. Don't get cheap material.

Position at Desk.-Sit squarely in front of desk, or table low enough to allow your arm to rest comfortably on it without throwing your shoulder up. Keep your feet on the floor in front of you-not crossed or twisted around the chair legs-and the muscle of the right forearm resting on the table or desk, the left hand on the paper in front of the pen. Sit up straight and do not allow yourself to get into a cramped position.

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FIGURE NO. 1.

Hold the Pen firmly but not too tightly, so that it points over your right shoulder, allowing the weight of the hand to rest on the nails of the little and third fingers, keeping the wrist flat with the paper. It should not touch it, however. Figures No. 1 and 2 will illustrate better than words the correct position and how to hold the pen.

FIGURE No. 2.