t effort that can be
given in ordinary reading will serve to fix a word more or less fully,
we can soon acquire a marvellous power in the accurate spelling of words.

Again: In a spelling-book before me I see lists of words ending in _ise,
ize,_ and _yse,_ all mixed together with no distinction. The arrangement
suggests memorizing every word in the language ending with either of these
terminations, and until we have memorized any particular word we have no
means of knowing what the termination is. If, however, we are taught that
_ize_ is the common ending, that _ise_ is the ending of only thirty-one
words, and _yse_ of only three or four, we reduce our task enormously and
aid the memory in acquiring the few exceptions. When we come to
_franchise_ in reading we reflect rapidly, "Another of those verbs in
_ise_!" or to _paralyse,_ "One of those very few verbs in _yse_!" We give
no thought whatever to all the verbs ending in _ize,_ and so save so much
energy for other acquirements.

If we can say, "This is a violation of such and such a rule," or "This is a
strange irregularity," or "This belongs to the class of words which
substitutes _ea_ for the long sound of _e,_ or for the short sound of _e_."

We have an association of the unknown with the known that is the most
powerful possible aid to the memory. The system may fail in and of itself,
but it more than serves its purpose thus indirectly in aiding the memory.

We have not spoken of the association of word forms with sounds,
the grouping of the letters of words into syllables, and the aid that a
careful pronunciation gives the memory by way of association; for while
this is the most powerful aid of all, it does not need explanation.

The Mastery of Regular Words.

We have spoken of the mastery of irregular words, and in the last paragraph
but one we have referred to the aid which general principles give the
memory by way of association in acquiring the exceptions to the rules.
We will now consider the great class of words formed according to fixed
principles.

Of course these laws and rules are little more than a string of
analogies which we observe in our study of the language. The language
was not and never will be built to fit these rules. The usage of the
people is the only authority. Even clear logic goes down before usage.
Languages grow like mushrooms, or lilies, or bears, or human bodies.
Like these they have occult and profound laws which we can