ly good; a few seem so inferior that many who study
them think they were not written by the same hand that penned _The
Tempest_. Some of the plays are more difficult than others, and some
cannot be comprehended until the reader has had some experience in life.
There are several, on the other hand, that may be read with great
interest and profit by almost any one, while those who have read _The
Tempest_ as we have recommended, should find some measure of enjoyment
in all. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ is a charming fairy story; _The
Merchant of Venice_ is a good story, contains fine characters and shows
some of Shakespeare's most beautiful thoughts, although some people are
inclined to believe he has dealt too severely with the Jew. _Much Ado
About Nothing_ is a jolly comedy to match with _The Comedy of Errors_.
_Julius Caesar_, _Richard III_ and _Coriolanus_ are interesting
historical plays, and _Hamlet_, _Macbeth_ and _Romeo and Juliet_ are
among the best of his tragedies. If a person would read just the plays
mentioned in the thoughtful way we have indicated here, he would gain a
benefit whose great value never can be estimated, and thereafter all
reading would seem easier and more delightful.

PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES

NOTE.--The pronunciation of difficult words is indicated by respelling
them phonetically. _N_ is used to indicate the French nasal sound; _K_
sound of _ch_ in German; _ue_ the sound of the German _ue_ and French _u_;
_oe_ the sound of _oe_ in foreign languages.

ABOUKIR, _ah boo keer'_
ACHILLES, _a kil' leez_
ACIS, _ay' sis_
AIX, _ayx_
AJAX TELAMON, _ay' jacks tel' a mon_
ALAMO, _al' a mo_
ALAMEDA, _ah la may' dah_
ALAVA, _ah' la vah_
ALGIERS, _al jeerz'_
ALGONQUIN, _al gon' kwin_
ALLOUEZ, _al loo ay'_
ALONSO, _a lon' zo_
ALPUXARRAS, _ahl'' poo hahr' ras_
ALVARADO, _ahl vah rah' do_
ANTIGUA, _an tee' gwa_
APHRODITE, _af ro di' tee_
ARDENNES, _ahr den'_
ARGONAUTA, _ahr go naw' tah_
ARIEL, _ay' ry el_
AYACANORA, _i a kahn o' rah_
BOABDIL, _bo ahb deel'_
CADIZ, _kay' diz_
CANOVA, _kah no' vah_
CASABIANCA, _kas'' a bee an' kah_
CHARLEVOIX, _shahr'' lev wah'_
CHARYBDIS, _ka rib' dis_
COLIGNI, _ko'' leen'' yee'_, or _ko leen' yee_
COMMUNIPAW, _kom mun' y paw_
CORIOLANUS, _kor y o lay' nus_
COROMANTEES, _ko ro mahn' teez_
CUNDINAMARCA, _koon'' dee nam ahr' kah_
DAMFREVILLE, _doN freh veel'_
D'AUMALE, _do mahl'_