liKAl>LN(i AN: i.I.'x IJIOX. 



n 



'.nrt-H iiii^ht Mill!.'..- to illu-i I :in- iin.l tin- 



's ,,r oorr< o1 pim. tuation . l.m tin- i 



::V, will hlmw tin' iiiip-.rtalH-.' ..) 



olark of a congregation in Si-otiaml hail u pup 



m is, to road just boforo tl nii,<,,l up ,., 



.ih ami ./../ the congregation, < 'in. following 



mpointed: " A man w<\i\\> t" ''< his wife desires the 



<>t tho congregation." The clerk read it a* if a comma 



ha.l l.f.-n ]>ut :it ih.' .n.l of tli.' word vr(fe, and unfortunately 



in uo Hiuall degree, tin- risible faculties of tho people 



.1 : thus, " A man going to sea (see) his wife, desires 



tin- pray, r-i of the congregation." 



lint ..!<ii"iu'li tho meaning of a sentence is thun materially 



affected by tlio punctuation, it will bo Been in the following 



.:.' th.' |uiii.-tuation alone is an unsafe guide to follow 



in tlic i -nmieiation of any collection of words. For, in many 



coses, th'- - marl.- indicate no pause, emphasis, or other cir.-um- 



e requiring notice in tho enunciation of tho sentence. 

 Tin- nature of tli>> marks used in written language may also be 

 understood by a reference to the origin of their names. 



'I'll.- word Comma is derived from tho Greek language, and 

 properly designates a section, or part struck off from a complete 

 hiMit.-nci'. In its usual acceptation, it signifies tho point which 

 murks tho smaller portions of a period. It therefore represents 

 tho shortest pause, and consequently marks the least construe- 



r most -dependent parts of a sentence. 



Tho word Colon is from tho Greek, and signifies a member of 



nee, and the Latin prefix semi means half. Hence, a 



-inn is used for the purpose of pointing out those parts of 



a compound sentence which, although they each constitute a 



i!i-;inct proposition, have yet a dependence upon each other, or 



on some common clause. The Colon is used to divide a sentence 



into two or more ports, which, although the sense be complete 



iu eaeli, are not independent. The Colon is also used in 



chanting, to indicate tho division of a verso. 



The word Period is derived from tho Greek, and means a 

 n'.vuit or well-rounded sentence. Hence, when the circuit of tho 

 i -; completed, with all its relations, the. mark bearing this 

 name is used to denote this completion. 



Tho Dash is only onco used in tho Bible, where it is employed 

 as an ellipsis (Exod. xxxii. 32). 



The word Interrogation is derived from tho Latin, and means 



lion. Hence this mark is put at the end of a question. 

 The word Exclamation is from the same language, and means 

 a passionate utterance. Henco the mark so called is put at tho 

 end of such utterances. 



Tho word Parenthesis, derived from the Greek language, means 

 cii insertion. A sentence, clause, or phrase, inserted between 

 the parts of another sentence for tKo purpose of explanation, or 

 of calling particular attention, is properly called a parenthesis. 



It is to be remarked, however, that the name parenthesis 

 belongs only to the sentence inserted between brackets or crotchets, 

 and not to those marks themselves. 



The word Hyphen is derived from the Greek language, and 

 signifies undir i>m\ that is, together ; and is used to imply that 

 tli-' 1. -tiers or syllables between which it is placed are to bo 

 taken together as one word. 



Tho hyphen, when placed over a vowel, to indicate the long 

 sound of the vowel, is called Hie Macron, from the Greek, signify- 

 ing long. 



Tho mark called a Breve, indicating the short sound of the 

 vowel, is from tho Latin, signifying short. 



The word Ellipsis, also from the Greek, means an omission, 

 and properly refers to tho words, members, or sentences which 

 are omitted, and not to the marks which indicate tho mission. 



The word ApostropJie, also from the Greek, signifies tho turning 

 mi- 'ill. or tho omission of one letter or more. The word apos- 

 trophe, as here used, must not be confounded with the same 

 word as the name of a rhetorical figure. 



Tho word Dian-esis is also from the Greek, and signifies the 

 Inking apart, or tho separation of the vowels, which would other- 

 wise be pronounced as one syllable. 



The term Accent is derived from the Latin language, and 

 implies the tone of tlu>. voice- with which a word or syllable is to 

 bo pronounced. 



Tho word Section, derived also from the Latin, signifies a 

 cutting, or a cZivinon. Tho character which denotes a section 

 aeema to bo composed of SS N and to be an abbreviation of the 



words siynum section**, or the sign of a section. This 



- . as formerly used as the sign of the division of a die- 

 v rarely used, except as a ref erenoe to a note at Ui 

 bottom of the page. 



The word Paragraph is derived from the Greek language, and 

 signifies a writing in the margin. This mark, which, like the 

 erly used to designate those division* of a 

 section which are now indicated by unfinished lines or blank 

 spaces, in employed in the English Torsion of the Old and New 

 Testaments to mark the commencement of a fresh robject. 



It may further be remarked, that notes at the bottom of the 

 page, in the margin, or at tho end of a book, are often indi- 

 cated by figures or by letters, instead of the marks which have 

 already been enumerated. 



Tho word (\n-,t is from the Latin, and signifies it if wemtmg. 

 This mark is used only in manuscripts. 



The Cedilla is a mark placed under the letters c and g to indi- 

 cate tho soft sound of those letters. 



The Asterisk, Obelisk, Double Obelisk, and Parallels, with the 

 section and paragraph, aro merely arbitrary marks to call atten- 

 tion to tho notes at the bottom of the page. 



As these marks which have now been enumerated all have a 

 meaning, and aro employed for some special purpose, it is reoom- 

 mended to tho student never to pass by them without being 

 assured that ho understands what that purpose is. Correct and 

 tasteful reading can never be attained without a full apprecia- 

 tion of the meaning which the author intended to convey ; and 

 that meaning is often to be ascertained by tho arbitrary marks 

 employed by him for the purpose of giving dcfiniteness to an 

 expression. At the same time, the student should consider these 

 marks as his guide to the meaning only, not to the enunciation 

 of a sentence. Correct delivery must be left to the guidance of 

 taste and judgment otherwise acquired. 



In many excellent selections for lessons in reading, the pieces 

 have boon arranged in regular order, according to the nature of 

 their respective subjects, under the heads of Narrative, Descrip- 

 tive, Didactic, Argumentative, and Pathetic pieces, Public 

 Speeches, Promiscuous pieces, the Eloquence of the Bar, of the 

 Pulpit, and of tho Forum. 



By Narrative pieces are meant those pieces only which con- 

 tain a simple narration or story. Descriptive pieces are those 

 in which something is described, chiefly from nature. Didactic 

 pieces are those designed to convey some particular kind of 

 instruction, whether moral, religions, or scientific. Argumenta- 

 tive pieces are those in which some truth is designed to be 

 proved in an agreeable manner. Pathetic pieces are those by 

 which the feelings of pity, love, admiration, and other passions, 

 aro excited. Promiscuous pieces aro those which do not fall 

 exclusively under any of the classes which have been enumerated, 

 or which consist of a mixture of those classes. The Eloquence 

 of the Bar consists of speeches (or pleas as they are technically 

 called) made by distinguished lawyers in the courts of justice %* 

 favour of or against a supposed criminal. The Eloquence of the 

 Pulpit consists of sermons or discourses delivered on religious 

 occasions. Tho Eloquence of the Forum consists in the speeches, 

 addresses, orations, etc., addressed to political or promiscuous 

 assemblies. 



To many, this information may seem superfluous or puerile. 

 But as these lessons are designed for the young and the un- 

 learned, it must not be forgotten that their sources of informa- 

 tion are few, and that they will not always take tho pains to 

 inform themselves of the meaning of words, even when they are 

 familiar to their eyes in capital letters, and in the running titles 

 of the books before them every day. It is often the case that 

 the teacher also, taking for granted that his pupils are familiar 

 with the meaning of words so often presented to their eyes, 

 neglects to question them on the subject ; and in riper years it 

 becomes a matter of surprise to the pupil himself that, in early 

 life, words which he hod heard sounded almost every day at 

 school presented no idea to his mind beyond that of an unmean- 

 ing or rather an unintelligible sound. 



The object of all education is not so much to fill the mind 

 with knowledge as to strengthen its powers and enlarge its 

 capacity. Those exercises, therefore, are always most beneficial 

 in education which tend most effectually to produce this result. 

 There is, perhaps, no branch of study connected with popular 

 education which, when properly pursued, is more highly subser- 

 vient to this end than the study of correct and tasteful reading, 



