New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-02-18

however must suffice To the siTri essou 10 given
a rule that the plural both Of nouns and electives is
generally formed By adding 2 ~ toe singular In
the sren lesson the scholar il required 10 write for the
first time the French plural Of alaL before be hss re
ceivcd anything but the ngulsr a. model and with
out the least notice that the plural irregular snd IN
the fhry si lesson he ia told for the trst time that
most French nouns snd sdectves ending 10 a. form
the plural by changing this termination into AR Ia
the tenth lesson the scholar il given for model ai
rous sDd s rails which respectively translated DO
7 g0u 9O1 Ig0- alec rata q "a which are translated
DOES h SOf Re Soes IN The exercise to the same les
be s required 70 translate into French Al going
ARE y0u Soing h. Eoir2 Is h. going The phrases
20 and IAN g5ng nave not precisely the same mean
ing in English although the same words are used TO ex
press both in French bui every one knows that the frat
impulse Of the student is 10 write foreign language IN
the exsct idom Of his mother tongue Unfortunately
for him. he has in this received the French Of the
verb 10 b. and though he has not yet been Introduced
70 the par;cple aan still be- has already found that
his book IS not % be depended on. be is much more
likely 70 look farther for and complete his sentence
by writing that very common and elegant American
French phrase snis ddRf than he g % suspect-i0r
can be onya suspicion-hat 60 and an g0H9. are
expressed By the same words in French. Mr.. Pnney
charges il an oversight in Menescs that he has De-
ayed in his book the Introduction OF the verb 70 b. Ihis
instance and hundred others that viii occur o the
mind Of French scholar prove that he was wise in so
doing.
in apartitive are preceded BY aein French I'M
modisely following % these examples for ustra-
ton Some beef d. bqNf. SJre cider Dr cidre Il
u
right But lest the scholar should suppose the examples
are formcd-as they really arcaccordng % the general
rule be is Immediately told In q note that az HEAE
unes V ith the article Il and forms d " thus conveying
the idea That the examples form exception % the gen
eral rule Ia the rgfysrft lesson the parttYe article Is
again introduced. and have this rule paruuve
ilmediap preceding adjective il always expressedb by
d. merely" Now in spite OF this word immedlateiy
which ought 10 decide the matter the student y SUI IN
doubt if ii make any difference whether the adjective
precede or follow the noun, and the two examples i'm.
I me- atg
for in both cases Arer0us de bOHs krrcs Arc, roHs
DE pain fraisn ne is used whereas in the latter should
have been d.. In the t0eafgfh lesson the scholar Is
referred TO the heading of the Lessons, as his models
for writing the ordinsl numbers. Thirteen OF these
headings in the book are grossly Incorrect and there
| fore worse than useless.
/ With such precepts and such models the scholar is
required to write exercises the paruuye article and
the ordnal numbers with what accuracy he viii ac-
complish his task under such auspices may be readily
TO the instances Of insufficient or incorrect models
which we have quoted it may be replied that they are
oversights or exceptions 10 the genei Al OF o
hook which may be corrected in future editions An
examination of the book itself. viii convince any one
that this is an idea The meagerness ana IN
suncency OF all the models from which the exercises
are 10 be wrten-cven when they are not as Is very
frequently the case entirely misplaced and therefore
utterly useesss one OF the most striking features oil
/ the socaed " Practical French Teacher. Compare
il in this particular with Ollendorhs Method-ior when
we arc anxious to challenge comparison on every
point-and the difference will be seen At once; and II
Onendor has been too dfuse in this part OF his Work,
we have vet 20 learn II for the first time
We have said that the Practical French Teacher
cannot claim to be based upon OilendOrs Method be-
cause deficient in an essential element oil MS system
which is frequent rfi0H. This deficiency IS suihcent-
y apparent from Mr. Pnneys own statement IN Lis RE
face He boasts that his small duOdccimo OF SO pages
contains more words and principles OF the Ian.
guace than Manesca work, which IL royal octave OF
$50 pages easy 10 from this that the words IN
roduced in his lessons cannot be repeated more uan
twice az he has asserted Few grammars can be iound
which do not contain as much repetition as tins ny
thus attempting 10 crowd too mGchinio email compass
he has completely nulhhed any essential resemplshcs
his Method might have borne 20 Olendorn IN when
the words and constructions often repeated a. 70
leave indelbe impression upon the memory ana me
profess and irksome labor OF consulting dcuohaYa t
every step Is entirely dispensed with
This desreto accomplish more than the circumstances
svill permit THE cseer haste h put s earn
ia possession Of the means Of speaking ana WIRING
French is the great fault Of Mr. Pinneys book mul'
ude OF difficulties is heaped Al once upon the stndent
and he is hurried from point to point without suhcehi
time to gain thorough knowledge Of anything ana IN
his rapid course IL il scarcely possible Tor the many
words and constructions of the language he passes over
TO leave more than the shadow of an impression upon
his memory He s plunged into the idioms without no
tce aud lett form the irregular plura OF nouns 70
discover the proper position Of objective pronoun 10
write correct sentences from imperfect examples, ana
10 conc with innumerable other difficulties. with little
or no assistance from the book which processes 10 De
| his guide and teacher.
Mr. Pinney's treatment OF the pronouns -unquesuona
bly, the greatest difficulty Of the French ianguege-and
OF On and in particular is and superficial 10 me
last degree Ii is not too much assert that no one
who had not previous knowledge oi french uAn
late his exercises on the pronouns wth even rolerso
accuracy without access % means OF Information mol
contained in his book On this most important point
is perfect contrast to Ollendorns Method "heh j. AZ
mrably full. clear. snd distinct
In the absence OF full examples. Mr. Pnneys BOOK
stands greatly IN need o rules and explanations ana
vet in this particular is more deficient than any oook
/ we have met with Il would be easy 10 mske long
let Of the defects OF the Practical French leecheI'
for they abound On every page but those VINO s' ~
convinced by what we have written vii not lA,i 20 %
40 when they have examined for themselves ana thet
fore we shall add little To what has already been ssd
such elegant and grammatical English phrases as we
/ admire the good Of Irlch he speaks 49, iDre
cider" DO you go to the house q ne p are sprhkled
through il in than luxurious abundance Ihe close
aud iorbiddng aspect OF the PRINT ana US many NPo
graphical some OF which are OF the most per.
picking character for learners cannot iAu 10 TeheaI
l wholly worthless as a textbook
In his preface Mr.. Pinney states that he had never
heard of Olendor Grammar until his own was near
ly completed We give full credit 10 this assertion -
Every page witness that IL was composed IN utter
Ignorance OF Ollendorfis Method. The only matter
OF surprise IL that he did not abandon MS underASh
after seeing how completely he had been antic Iatei
I and surpassed Under such Circumstances, us booA
ought never have been published and had ne seen
OlendOr1i 5 Grammar before commencing lis ih9ofs'
Y we confident il never would have oeen-
~ d" THE FLOWER QUEES' by C. w Clio
YER Is the title Of beautiful Duet just published by
Firth Hall & Pond 1t sung with rspturous ap'
plsuse by Mrs Loder and Miss Norths al the benent Of
the Church of the Crucfxiou This duet IS arranged
for sopranosgood duets Of this character are very
rare and this is one of the best We ever heard
rv~ Firth, Hall & Pond, have published new
descriptive Song, by HENRY RussEIL-" Man the Lie
Boat, which is a spirited and destined to be very
popular Song.
THE ANGLoSIoS.-Ths sturdy apostle OF the
reform in writing and printing has just made US It's third
visit We find in it the evidences OF uDdenisble vitality
and are pleased to by the notices OF papers IN var
Gus parts of the country, which it copies that II has
been received With general favor Heaven speed the
day when We shall write and print words As We speak
/ them.
CITY ITEMS.
WEDNESDAY, February Il.
IL The Concert for the benefit OF the Catholic
Half Orphan Asylum Saturday evening realized