ants are divided into mutes, liquids and double letters; although
they have nothing in particular to do with funerals, hydrostatics, or
the General post office. The liquids are, l, m, n, r; the double
letters, j, x, z; the other letters are mutes.

"Hye dum, dye dum, fiddle _dumb_--c." --STERNE.

A syllable is a distinct sound of one or more letters pronounced in a
breath, or, as we say in the classics, in a jiffey.

A diphthong is the sound of two vowels in one syllable. Taken
collectively they resemble a closed fist-- i.e. a bunch of _fives_. The
diphthongs are au, eu, ei, ae, and [oe]. Of the two first of these, au and
eu, the sound is _intermediate_ between that of the two vowels of which
each is formed. This fact may perhaps be impressed upon the mind, on the
principles of artificial memory, by a reference to a familiar beverage,
known by the name of half-and-half. In like manner, ei, which is
generally pronounced i, and ae and [oe], sounded like e, may be said to
exhibit something like an analogy to a married couple. The human
diphthong, Smith female + Brown male, is called Brown only.

[Illustration: A HUMAN DIPHTHONG.]

The reason, says the fool in King Lear, why the seven stars are no more
than seven-- is a pretty reason-- because they are not eight. This is a
fool's reason; but we (like many other commentators) cannot give a
better one, why the Parts of Speech are no more than eight-- because
they are not nine. They are as follow:

1. Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Participle-- declined.

2. Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection-- undeclined. Most
schoolboys would like to decline them altogether.

+OF A NOUN.+

A noun is a name,-- whether it be a Christian name, or a sur-name-- the
name of a prince, a pig, a pancake, or a post. Whatever is-- is a noun.

Nouns are divided into substantives and adjectives.

A noun substantive is its own trumpeter, and speaks for itself without
assistance from any other word-- brassica, a cabbage; sartor, a tailor;
medicus, a physician; vetula, an old woman; venenum, poison; are
examples of substantives.

An adjective is like an infant in leading strings-- it cannot go alone.
It always requires to be joined to a substantive, of which it shows the
nature or quality-- as lectio longa, a long lesson; magnus aper, a great
_boar_; pinguis puer, a fat boy; macer puer, a lean boy. In making love
(as you will find one of these days) or in abusing a cab-man, your
succ