of calling the
attention of the learner to the manner in which he utters the sounds of the
letters. A knowledge of about three dozen different elementary sounds is
implied in the faculty of speech. The power of producing these sounds with
distinctness, and of adapting them to the purposes for which language is
used, constitutes perfection of utterance. Had we a perfect alphabet,
consisting of one symbol, and only one, for each elementary sound; and a
perfect method of spelling, freed from silent letters, and precisely
adjusted to the most correct pronunciation of words; the process of
learning to read would doubtless be greatly facilitated. And yet any
attempt toward such a reformation, any change short of the introduction of
some entirely new mode of writing, would be both unwise and impracticable.
It would involve our laws and literature in utter confusion, because
pronunciation is the least permanent part of language; and if the
orthography of words were conformed entirely to this standard, their origin
and meaning would, in many instances, be soon lost. We must therefore
content ourselves to learn languages as they are, and to make the best use
we can of our present imperfect system of alphabetic characters; and we may
be the better satisfied to do this, because the deficiencies and
redundancies of this alphabet are not yet so well ascertained, as to make
it certain what a perfect one would be.

OBS. 2.--In order to have a right understanding of the letters, it is
necessary to enumerate, as accurately as we can, the elementary _sounds_ of
the language; and to attend carefully to the manner in which these sounds
are enunciated, as well as to the characters by which they are represented.
The most unconcerned observer cannot but perceive that there are certain
differences in the sounds, as well as in the shapes, of the letters; and
yet under what heads they ought severally to be classed, or how many of
them will fall under some particular name, it may occasionally puzzle a
philosopher to tell. The student must consider what is proposed or asked,
use his own senses, and judge for himself. With our lower-case alphabet
before him, he can tell by his own eye, which are the long letters, and
which the short ones; so let him learn by his own ear, which are the
vowels, and which, the consonants. The processes are alike simple; and, if
he be neither blind nor deaf, he can do both about equally well. Thus he
may know for a certa