Exercises.

Sorrows the poor pity sufferings of the and.

To itself others heart grateful the duty at performs once its and itself grateful endears.

Beings best of God kindest the is and.

Lamented an amiable youth sincere of terms in grief parent death affectionate the of a most.

Temper even and mild remarkably a possessed Sir Isaac Newton.

Words few these in duties contained all are moral our: By do done be would as you.

To eat and drink, instead of living do as many drink and eat we should, to live in order.

Glorious the Sun how an object is; but glorious more how much good is great that and good Being use for our made it who.

XIII.

CAPITAL LETTERS.

The first word of every book, chapter, letter, note, or any other piece of writing should begin with a capital letter.

The names of the months and the days of the week should always begin with a capital letter.

The first word after a period should begin with a capital letter.

The first word after every interrogation, or exclamation, should begin with a capital letter; unless a number of interrogative, or exclamatory sentences occur together, and are not totally independent.

The various names, or appellations of the Deity should begin with a capital letter; as, God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Supreme Being, the Lord, Providence, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit, &c.

All proper names, such as the names of persons, places, streets, mountains, lakes, rivers, ships, &c., and adjectives derived from them, should begin with a capital letter.

The first word of a quotation after a colon, or when it is in direct form, should begin with a capital letter.

The first word of an example, every substantative and principal word in the titles of books, and the first word of every line in poetry, should begin with a capital letter

The pronoun I, and the interjection O, are always written in capitals.

Any words, when remarkably emphatical, or when they are the principal subject of the composition, may begin with capitals.

Exercises.

when socrates Was Asked what Man Approached the Nearest to Per fect happiness, He answered, that man who Has The Fewest wants.

addison Has Remarked, with Equal piety and truth, that the Creation is a Perpetual feast To the mind of a Good man.

diligence, industry, and Proper improvement Of time, Are Material duties of the Young; but the young Often Neglect These duties.

how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? till Seven Times?

but what Excuse can the englishman Plead? the custom of duelling? how many lessons are there in this book? are there More Than twenty five?

why did You Not Arrive sooner? were you necessarily Detained?

daughter of faith, Awake! Arise! Illume

the Dread Unknown, The chaos of The tomb.

the lord My pasture Shall Prepare,

and Feed Me With A shepherd's care.

father of all in Every Age,

in Every Clime Adored,

by Saint, by savage, and By sage,
jehovah, jove, or lord

thou great first cause, least understood,
who All my Sense Confined (confinedst),
to Know But This, That thou Art good
and That myself Am Blind.

yet Gavest me In this Dark Estate, &c.

the language of Many of the european nations was derived From the Ancient latin.

The english and french Fleets had a Severe Engagement.

i saw the dutch Ambassador in the Carriage of the spanish consul Always remember this Ancient maxim, Spoken by the greek philoso pher: "Know thyself."

The christian lawgiver Says, "take up Thy Cross Daily and follow me. solomon observes, that "Pride goes Before Destruction."

johnson's dictionary has long been the standard of english orthography but the work of doctor webster seems in a Fair way to Supplant It, have you read rollin's ancient history.

thomson's seasons and cowper's task contain many Poetical Beauties. i hope You will be able to Write Correctly All that i have Written.

XIV.

OF PUNCTUATION.*

Punctuation is the art of dividing a written composition into sentences, or parts of sentences; and is principally used to mark the grammatical divisions of a sentence. The marks employed in punctuation are sometimes used to note the different pauses and tones of voice, which the sense and an accurate pronunciation require.

The characters or marks, used in punctuation are:

*The importance of correct punctuation may be seen by the following extract from the London Times of September, 1818.

"The contract lately made for lighting the town of Liverpool, during the ensuing year, has been thrown void by the misplacing of a comma in the advertisement, which ran thus: "The lamps at present are about 4050 in number, and have in general two spouts each, composed of not less than twenty threads of cotton.' The contractor would have proceeded to furnish each lamp with the said twenty threads; but, this being but half the usual quantity, the commissioner discovered that the difference arose from the comma following, instead of preceding, the word each. The parties agreed to annul the contract, and a new one is now ordered."

Again; the meaning of the following sentence is materially affected by the punctuation:

"I said that he is dishonest it is true and I am sorry for it."

Now the pause placed after dishonest, will imply that it is true that he is dishonest, thus: "I said that he is dishonest; it is true, and I am sorry for it." But, if the pause be placed after true, the sentence implies that it is true that I said he is dishonest, and I am sorry that I said so, thus: "1 said that he is dishonest, it is true; and I am sorry for it."

The misplacing of a comma, by a Mr. Sharpe, converted an innocent remark into a piece of horrid blasphemy: "Believing Richard Brothers to be a prophet sent, by God I have engraved his portrait." Had the comma been removed two words forward, the assertion would have been innocent. †The word comma is derived from the Greek language, and properly designates a segment, section, or part cut off from a complete sentence. In its usual acceptation, it signifies the point, which marks the smaller segments, or portions of a period. It, therefore, represents the shortest pause, and consequently marks the least constructive or most dependent parts of a sentence.

The word semicolon is derived from the Latin word semi, which means half, and the Greek word kolon, which signifies a member.

The word period is derived from the Greek language, and means circuit."

To these may be added the marks of reference.

1. When two or more words are connected without the connecting word being expressed, the comma supplies the place of that word; as, "Alfred was a brave, pious, patriotic prince."

2. Those parts of a sentence which contain the relative pronoun, the case absolute, the nominative case independent, any parenthetical clause, and simple members of sentences, connected by words expressing a com parison, must be separated by commas; as, "The elephant, which you saw in the menagerie, took the child up with his trunk into his cage." "Shame being_lost, all virtue is lost." "Peace, O Virtue, peace is all thine own." "Better is a dinner of herbs with love, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

3. The following words and phrases, and others similar to them, are generally separated by commas from the rest of the sentence; namely Nay, so, however, hence, besides, perhaps, finally, in short, at least, morever, again. first, secondly, thirdly, lastly, once more, on the contrary,

&c.

4. The words of another writer, not formally introduced as a quotaion, and words and clauses expressing contrast or opposition, though closely connected in construction, are separated by a comma; as, "I pity the man, who can travel from Dan to Beersheba and cry, 'Tis all barren."

Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full."

5. When the absence of a word is indicated in reading or speaking by a pause, its place may be lied by a comma; as, "From law arises security; from security, ingay; from inquiry, knowledge."

6. Nouns in apposition, accompanied by explanatory words or phrases, are separated by commas; but if such nouns are single, or only form a proper name, they are not divided: as, "Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles was eminent for his zeal and knowledge."

7. When a sentence consists of several members, each constituting a distinct proposition, and having a dependence upon each other, or upon some common clause, they are separated by semicolons; as, "Wisdom has builded her house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars; sh, hath

killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table."

8. The colon is used to divide a sentence into two or more parts, which, although the sense be complete in each, are not wholly indepen dent; as, "Nature felt her inability to extricate herself from the conse quences of guilt: the gospel reveals the plan of Divine interposition and aid."

9. The colon is used when an example, a quotation, or a speech is introduced; as, "The Scriptures give us an amiable representation of the Deity in these words: God is love."

"G.

10. The period is used at the end of a complete and independent sentence. It is also placed after initial letters, when used alone; and, likewise, after all abbreviations; as, “One clear and direct path is pointed out to man." "Fear God." "Have charity towards all men." W." for "George Washington." "Geo." for "George." "Benj." for Benjamin." "U. S." for "Old Style." "F. R. S." for "Fellow of the Royal Society."

In a general view, the period separates the paragraph into sentences, the semicolon divides a compound sentence into simple ones; and the comma collects into clauses the scattered circumstances of manner time, place, relation, &c., belonging to every verb and to every noun.

The note of interrogation,† or the question, as it is sometimes called, is placed after every sentence which contains a question; as, "Who is this?" "What have you in your hand?" "The Cyprians said to me, Why do you weep?"

The exclamation point is used to express any sudden or violent emotion; such as surprise, joy, grief, love, hatred, anger, pity, anxiety, ardent wish, &c. It is also used to mark an exalted idea of the Deity; and is generally placed after the nominative case independent; and after the noun or pronoun which follows an interjection; as, "How mischievous are the effects of war!" "O blissful days! Ah me! how soon ye pass!" The exclamation point is also used after sentences containing a question when no answer is expected; as, "What is more amiable than virtue !"

Several exclamation points are sometimes used together, either in a parenthesis or by themselves, for the purpose of expressing ridicule, or a great degree of surprise, &c.

A parenthesis is a sentence, or a part of a sentence, inserted within

* Some very respectable grammarians tell us, that the propriety of using a colon or semicolon is sometimes determined by the use or omission of a conjunction; as, "Do not flatter yourself with the hope of perfect happi ness: there is no such thing in the world: " "Do not flatter yourselves with the hope of perfect happiness; for there is no such thing in the world." But many respectable writers make no use of the colon; and it may well be questioned, whether the retention of this character among the marks of punctuation adds any thing to the clearness or precision of written language.

tion.

The word interrogation is derived from the Latin, and means a ques

The word parenthesis is derived from the Greek language, and means in insertion.