When names of this kind are united they drop the possessive sign and have but one capital letter; as, Gravesend, Crowsnest, Whitestown, Scottsboro, Pennsburg.

3. When two common nouns with a preposition between them are used as the name of a place; as, Isle of Shoals, Lake of the Woods, Cape of Good Hope, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson.

Complex Names.-In names consisting of two words, both words are written with capital letters if the common name precedes the particular; thus, Mount Washington, Lake Superior, Cape May, Bayou Teche. When the common name of the object, as bay, mountain, city, river, etc., follows the particular name, usage varies. If the name of the object seems necessary to make the expression intelligible, it is best to begin both words with. capital letters. Thus, when we speak of Hudson's Bay, we could not appropriately call it "the Hudson's;" so also of Long Island Sound, Albemarle Sound, Hampton Roads, Cape Cod Bay, Delaware Bay, White Mountains, Rocky Mountains. Both capital letters, in each case, seem to be necessary in these words, especially in the example last named. Most mountains being rocky there must be a distinction between "the rocky mountains " and "the Rocky Mountains."

In complex names where the first word conveys the meaning intelligibly without the use of the other, the capital letter in the second word does not seem necessary. Thus, we may refer to the Susquehanna river as "the Susquehanna," to the Hudson river as "the Hudson," to the Mississippi river as "the Mississippi," to the Catskill mountains as "the Catskills," and our language will in every case be intelligible. The words mountains, rivers, etc., in such expressions need no capital letters.

We may

The same is true of nearly all the oceans. write "the Atlantic ocean" or "the Atlantic;" "the Pacific ocean" or "the Pacific," the distinguishing name. of the natural body of land or water being sufficient to make the meaning intelligible. The distinction is clearly shown in speaking of "the Delaware" and "Delaware Bay." The first term would not be mistaken for the second. The first refers only to the river.

When an adjective forms part of a geographical name it should begin with a capital letter; as, Green Mountains, Green Bay, White Mountains, Red River.

A good rule for the use of capital letters in complex names is as follows: When both names are necessary to express the meaning, each should begin with a capital letter; thus, Green Mountains, Casco Bay, Bering's Strait, Berkshire Hills, Chapel Hill, Rocky Point, Mammoth Cave, Block Island, Michigan City, Fairview Village, Bunker Hill, Central Park.

When only one name is needed to make the meaning intelligible only the proper name of the object should begin with a capital letter; as, Missouri river, Adirondack mountains, Mediterranean sea, Pacific ocean, Washington city.

Street. St. as the abbreviation for street is by some written without a capital letter; but there seems to be no good reason why this should deviate from the rule. Chestnut St. is better than Chestnut st. It requires the two terms to make the name. It is true that authority may be given for either form. Irving wrote the expression, "Mulberry street," and "Grand Street," but John Wilson, an excellent authority on such matters, writes "School Street," and the Atlantic Monthly, "Nassau Street."

Bryant the expression,

Goold Brown seems to claim that a hyphen should

occasionally be used to make an expression clear, and he would write "The New-York Directory," claiming that without the hyphen the phrase might mean the new directory for York: but this position is not tenable. If a new directory for York were meant, the word "new" should not begin with a capital letter, and the expression should read "The new York Directory." The "New York Directory" is a directory for New York, either new or old. If a new one is meant it may be written "The new New York Directory," in which the second word new is part of the name of the city. In general, it may be said that unless there is good reason for using a capital letter it is better to use a small letter instead. The tendency of the uncultured is to use more capitals than are necessary.

Errors in the use of capital letters are frequent even among reputable writers. We append some examples to show how even the best informed may sometimes violate the current rules.

1. The Lord mayor of London's authority.-Murray's Gram

mar.

2. We stayed a month at lord Lyttleton's, the ornament of his country. Id.

3. The Chestnut ridge is about twenty-five miles west of the Alleghanies, and Laurel ridge ten miles further [farther] west. -Balbi's Geography.

4. Staten Island, an island of New York, nine miles below New York City.—Universal Gazetteer.

5. He who sells a christian sells the grace of God.-Magazine. In colleges and halls in ancient days,

6.

There dwelt a sage called discipline.- Wayland.

Goold Brown gives the following as written incorrectly. They are taken from Williams' Universal Gazetteer.

"Salt Creck, the name of four towns in different parts of

Ohio; White Clay, a hundred in Newcastle county, Delaware; Newcastle, a town and halfshire of Newcastle county, Delaware; Sing Sing, a village in West Chester county, New York; White Water, a town of Hamilton county, Ohio; Red Hook, a town of Dutchess county, New York, on the Hudson; Kinderhook, a town of Columbia county, New York; Charles City, James City, Elizabeth City, names of counties, not cities."

Mr. Brown would in each of these names join the two words with a hyphen or reject the second capital letter and make each name a name of one word. Present usage does not sustain Mr. Brown.

NOTE. As regards the name White Clay, in Delaware, which is the name of both a creek and a political division known as a hundred, a peculiar local pronunciation has become established which would not be recognized elsewhere. The name of the stream is known as Whitely Creek, though spelled White Clay Creek, and of the hundred, Whitely Creek hundred.

SYLLABICATION.

Syllabication is the process of dividing words into the syllables of which they are composed.

The following are the most important principles to be followed in the division of words into syllables:

1. Words should be divided usually according to their prefixes, suffixes, or grammatical endings if they have any. Thus, re new, larg er, wis dom, hurt ful, rock y, ci der.

2. Compound words should be divided into the simple words of which they are composed. Thus, mill wheel, pen man, fore most, tea kettle.

3. When the derivation and the pronunciation seem to conflict, the division should be made according to the pronunciation rather than the derivation. Thus, rep resent a tive rather than re pre sent a tive; ap a thy rather than a path y; pred i cate rather than pre di cate; thermom e ter rather than ther mo me ter; as cribe rather than a scribe.

4. In dividing words we should give to every syllable all the letters necessary to the correct pronunciation of that syllable. Thus, pref ace not pre face, ma tron not mat ron, twin kle not twink le, bril liant not brill iant.

5. A word having two or more syllables may be divided at the end of a line, but only at the end of a syllable. In applying this principle the part on either line should consist of two or more letters, otherwise the word should not be divided.

It is important also that the word should be so divided