Where echo walks still hills among.

E-Words, idioms and phrases are often used, which would be inadmissible in prose; as,

By fountains clear, or spangled star-light sheen,
Thy voice we hear, and thy behests obey.—

On the first friendly bank he throws him down.
I'll seek the solitude he sought,

And stretch me where he lay.

F.--A more violent ellipsis is allowable in poetry than in prose: e. g.,

For is there aught in sleep can charm the wise ?

Who never fasts, no banquet e'er enjoys.

G.-A syllable in poetry may be omitted or added; as, wail for bewail, wilder for bewilder, plaint for complaint, amaze for amazement, eve or even for evening, helm for helmet, morn for morning, lone for lonely, dread for dreadful, list for listen, ope for open, lure for allure, e'er for ever, ne'er for never, and o'er for over.

H.-Adjectives are oftentimes elegantly connected with nouns which they do not strictly qualify; as,

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.
The tenants of the warbling shade.

And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds.

I. The ordinary rules of grammar are often violated; e. g.,

It ceased, the melancholy sound.

My banks, they are furnished with bees.

I. The use of or and nor instead of either and

neither; e. g.,

-And first

Or on the listed plain, or stormy sea.

Nor grief nor fear shall break my rest.

K.-Greek, Latin, and other idioms are allowable, though not allowed in prose; as,

He knew to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.

Give me to seize rich Nestor's shield of gold.

There are, who deaf to mad ambition's call,
Would shrink to hear the obstreperous trump of fame.

LESSON XIX.

A CONVERSATION-BETWEEN MR. GORDON AND HIS FAMILY, AND DR. ABBOT, THE TEACHER OF THEIR SONS.

Mr. Gordon.-Dr. Abbot, we are very happy to see you.

Mrs. G.-We have often wanted you here, Sir, as a court of appeal, and still more, I may say, for the pleasure of your society.

Dr. A.-Had I known that, I think I should scarcely have waited for a formal invitation. It is my wish to have frequent intercourse with those who have children with me; and particularly where they happen to be of a congenial spirit.

Mr. G.-Whether you find us such or not, one thing I can assure you—we shall be most happy to cultivate your acquaintance, and to listen to any suggestions you may be pleased to make to aid us, as co-workers with you in duties so responsible, and so arduous. I was not a little mortified the other day, that my son, in his honest bluntness, should report to you what I said of his reading and yet I cannot say I am sorry for it; since it put him in the way of being corrected, and ourselves too.

Mrs. G.-I hope our children conduct themselves to please you, Sir. They seem to like their school very well, and to take much interest in their studies.

Dr. A.—I had already inferred as much: hence we may expect some improvement: for nothing affords a better promise of it, than the very things you have mentioned. Sometimes children like their school because more pains are taken to win their attachment than to improve their minds; but in that case, I think it is rare to see them take much interest in study. Where the teacher so conducts the lessons of his pupils as to enable them clearly to understand every step, as they advance on their course; though his exactions gradually rise to the full limit of their capacities, they naturally like their studies all the better; they like their school, their instructer, and are generally found to be happy; of course able to accomplish more, and with much greater ease.

Mr. G.-It is natural to suppose any one executes with more ease whatever pleases him; but that he has more power to do it, is a new idea to me; and yet it looks reasonable enough that it should be so.

Mrs. G.-We are gratified at the progress our chil

dren appear to be making,-especially in their elocutionary department-a branch in which they never showed any interest before.

Wm. G.-And because we never before had any body to teach us, so as to make it interesting. If we had had the same instruction we now have, I think we should always have liked it.

Mrs. G.-Well, my son, we will say nothing more of that. But-Sir, do you think I am going to criticise some of your instructions? or rather, I should say, the system you follow. Since our children have been upon this study, we have all become elocutionists: and were you to look in upon us while engaged, you might fancy your school transferred to this place; and our William its instructer.

Dr. A.—I am very glad to find that the works of the school-room are so well sustained and encouraged at home, and that you all take so much interest in this pleasing accomplishment. It augurs well for the prospects of your children: for, depend upon it, they will measure the importance of every study by the interest taken in it by their parents: but, no doubt, you have already anticipated all I might say. You, spoke of crit

icising. I have not the vanity to suppose but that I often give occasion for this friendly office, and I certainly shall think myself fortunate, if I never fall into worse hands.

Mrs. G.-Is there not a proverb like this, Sir; "He that would share the benefit of another's opinions must freely express his own"?

Dr. A.-I cannot say it has yet become a proverb;

but it certainly deserves to be, and placed to the credit of Mrs. Gordon.

Mrs. G.-Well, I am not disposed to lose the benefit of my proverb, since it is so well approved: we think, Sir, the full sound of e, in words ending in ent and ence and that of gentlemen, is rather affected and pedantic.

Dr. A.-Yes, and so do I, to judge from your pronunciation of the word gentlemen. The direction is to raise the e in such words just enough to be perceptible to the ear, rather than to suffer it to fall into the obscure sound of u: of course, to follow out the direction, we should say silence, providence, omnipotence, contentment, improvident, gentlemen; and not silunce, providunce, omnipotunce, contentmunt, improvidunt.

Wm. G.-I see, Mother, we ran into the same difficulty in pronunciation, by overdoing the matter, as we did in the inflections and divisions of speech in our attempts to avoid the obscure sound of u in such words, we brought out the e too prominently.

Mrs. G.-You pronounced the words, Sir, just as I like to hear them pronounced; and, I presume, in accordance with the principles we were trying to follow: but failed, as my son says. I was going to mention some others that seemed to me unnatural, and affected, as William read them; such as giving i the long sound of e, and u its long sound, when not under accent: as sensebility, popularity, pleasure, and others of this class; but I am satisfied that whatever seemed unnatural and affected, was made so by ourselves, not by the system. Attempting to avoid one fault, we ran into a greater. I apprehend there is no danger of giving too marked dis