as to convey no misconception at first glance. Thus, a word like occurrences is better divided occur rences than

occurrenc es.

6. Two or more words conveying a single idea should be united; as, beehive, steamboat, cornplanter.

7. Consonants should be joined with the vowels whose sounds they modify. This is but another form of stating the third principle named. Thus, we divide reformation into ref or ma tion or re for ma tion according to the meaning of the word as governed by the pronunciation of the first syllable.

8. Diphthongs and triphthongs are not divided. Thus, we write buoy ant, loy al, boy ish.

When two vowels come together and do not form a diphthong, they form parts of separate syllables, and they may be divided; as, a e ri al, co op er ate, zo ol o gy,

etc.

9. When a single consonant comes between two vowels, if it does not shorten the sound of the first vowel it goes to the second; as, re bel, ea sy, co zy, crazy, stu dent.

10. When a single consonant comes between two vowels it goes to the first vowel if the vowel sound is thereby shortened; as, reb el, heavy, stud y.

11. When a mute and a liquid come between two vowels the same principle applies; the first consonant goes to the first vowel if that vowel is thereby shortened; as, cit ron, pat ronize; but when the first vowel is not shortened both consonants go to the second vowel; as, pu trid, pa trol.

12. When a liquid and a mute coming between two vowels blend with the first vowel, they are generally not separated; as, post age, west ern.

13. When a liquid and a mute coming between two

vowels do not blend with the first vowel they are separated, as in dan ger.

In other cases two consonants occurring together are usually separated, as in gen der, em pire, col lec tion.

Close attention to principle Seven would have saved some of our grammarians grave doubts, one of whom at least seems to be in a quandary as to whether the words river and fever should be divided ri ver and fe ver or riv er and fev er.

It will be noted, by this same principle, that Walker's rule that a consonant coming between two vowels must go to the latter, is incorrect; but even principle Seven, while general in its application, seems to have some exceptions in such words as rising, sizable, and dronish.

THE USE OF THE HYPHEN.

The use of the hyphen is considered here because of its importance in connection with syllabication.

Compound words, or those made up of two or more words, sometimes require a hyphen to connect their parts. The following are the most important principles governing the use of the hyphen:

1. Permanent compounds, such as bookseller, penman, and shoemaker, are consolidated; while temporary compounds, such as good-natured, laughter-loving, etc., require a hyphen.

2. Words regularly united, and usually known as compound words, should not be broken. Thus, railroad is a better form than rail road, red-hot is better than red hot, and well-being better than well being.

3. The hyphen is used to join the parts of compound words that do not sufficiently coalesce without it; as, dew-drop, curly-headed, rosy-cheeked, forty-five, tonight.

4. The compounding of words is sometimes necessary to make the meaning clear. Thus, there is a well-defined difference between a glass-house, a place for making glass, and a glass house, which is a house made of glass. So, also, the distinction between a live oak, a living oak, and a live-oak, a species of evergreen, is made clear by the use of the hyphen. So, also, the hyphen makes clear the distinction between a singing bird and a singing-bird, a dog's ear and a dog's-ear, many colored goods and manycolored goods.

When part of a word is common to two or more consecutive words it should be left separate or be used with both words. Thus, we may write of "the minute and the second hand of a watch;" better, "the minute-hand and the second-hand of a watch."

When several compounds occur together, it is usually best to combine them in groups; as, "Cripple-Creek gold-mines;" "Broad-Mountain coal-fields."

A phrase used as an epithet or as a modifier is compounded, and the hyphen used; as, a “never-to-be-forgotten" event, a "flower-bedecked" meadow, an "I-amsurprised" expression of countenance.

When compounds are formed by the union of a possessive and the noun limited, if the meaning is literal, both possessive sign and hyphen disappear; thus, tradesman, doomsday, ratsbane. When these same terms have not a literal meaning, as hound's-tongue, bear's-foot, or wolf's-bane, names of plants, both possessive sign and hyphen are retained.

When the compound term is used as an adjective, both the possessive sign and the hyphen are retained, as in the expressions, "a camel's-hair shawl,' "neat's-foot oil," "a bird's-eye view."

A phrase having a possessive and used as a proper

name retains the possessive sign but does not take the hyphen; as, Hare's Corner, Sewell's Point.

Cardinal numbers from twenty to one hundred are written with a hyphen; thus, twenty-one, sixty-seven, eighty-four. So also fractions; as, two-thirds, three-fourths, nine-tenths.

A foreign phrase that is used as an epithet, or whose parts have so lost their meaning as to become Anglicized, is written with a hyphen; as, piano-forte, billet-doux. But if the words convey their original meaning, they remain separate and no hyphen is used; thus, habeas corpus, scire facias, casus belli.

Prefixes, or similar parts, are not consolidated with the rest of the word if they stand before a capital letter, and the hyphen is used to separate; thus, pre-Adamite, ex-President, Anglo-Saxon, anti-Democratic.

The hyphen is used also to preserve the separate sense of the parts of a compound term, as in electromagnetism, vice-admiral, hydro-carbon.

The words to-day, to-night and to-morrow should always be written with a hyphen.

The tendency to consolidation in compounds seems to be well marked. Thus, the word schoolhouse was originally written as two words, school house; later the hyphen was inserted, making it a single word, school-house, each syllable taking equal stress; later still the accent was shifted to the word school, and the hyphen was dropped, and it seems to be the general rule in these. compounds that where the accent shifts to a single syllable the hyphen disappears.

Some amusing errors, occasioned by the misuse of the hyphen, are here presented, together with the names of the authors.

Webster's Spelling Book tells us that "men load hay

with a pitch fork;" also that "it is no more right to steal apples or water melons than money."

The following are taken from prominent writers:

"She formed a very singular and unheard of project."Goldsmith.

"I judge not my ownself, for I know not my ownself."Wayland.

"Our discriminations of this matter have been but four footed instinct.”—Rush, on the Voice.

"A tin peddler will sell tin vessels as he travels."—Noah Webster.

"The town has been for several days well behaved."- The Spectator.

"Both the ten and eight syllable verses are iambic.”—Blair's Grammar.

"Obscured, where highest woods, impenetrable

To star or sun-light, spread the umbrage broad."

-Milton.

"He manylanguaged nations has surveyed."-Pope. "Bluntwitted lord, ignoble in manner."-Shakespeare. "You might have trussed him and all his apparel into an eel-skin." [Notice there is but one accent.]-Shakespeare. "They may serve as land-marks to show what lies in the direct way of truth."-Locke.

"A falling off at the end always hurts greatly."—Blair.

"The north west winds from the high lands produce cold, clear weather." - Webster.

"The soldiers, with down cast eyes, seemed to beg for mercy." -Goldsmith.

"His head was covered with a coarse worn out piece of cloth."-Goldsmith.

"Constantia saw that the hand writing agreed with the contents of the letters."-Addison.

"Hunting, and other out door sports, are generally pursued." -Balbi's Geography.

"The consequences of any action are to be considered in a two fold light." — Wayland.