Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-05-13
Useful ainls on spelling.

Apropos Of the spelling MANIA we
give our readers the benefit of the sub
Joined treatise on the subject now absorb
ing, more than any other, intelligent pub
lie attention, careful analysis of which
will be found instructing recreation
ABLE AND IBLE.
AllEnglish words, without regard to the
source from which they have been de.
rived land those which come from Latin
words ending in "abilis," or French ones
in able, take the termination able
in English, as "procurable," "amenda-
ble;" but in words from Latin and French
words terminating in ibilis " or ible,"
then the ending will be ible in Eng
lish, as acceptable" defensible "con-
vertible, etc. In words ending in "cs "
or "ge," the final "e" preserved before
the termination "able," and "ous" fer
the purpose Of indicating the soft sound
of the consonant, as in manageable, /"
"traceable," "serviceable, ""chargeable, 4"
Courageous" advantageous" but be-
fore the words ending ''ible" the final
"e" of the primative disappears, as "dt-
ducible, " "redueible, "frangible," etc.
IsE AND IzE.
The variation in the termination Use"
and "ize" is due to the different deriva.
tions of words" ize" characterizing
words from the Greek and Latin, and
Use" from the French. The rule, how.
ever, is not inaexible; but it would be
well to bear in mind that at least four
fifths of the words pronounced as though
spelled "ize," OF IS" hard are spelled
Use"
SION AND TIoE.
Primitive words Which end in ID"
"de, "ge," init" "rt," "se," "ss," take
"sion" in their derivatives; but other
words generally have "tion." Exam.
pies: "condescerd," "condescsnsion; 1"
Fevade," evasion" emerge" "emer.
sion" admit, admission" !" convert"
"conversion;" confuse" confusion"
impress" impression. "Admix,"
"admixtion;' promote" promotion"
The rule does not apply to irregular
words, as "compulsion," "declension,
"divulsion, expulsion" "revulsion, ,"
tension" version" coercion" "sus
picion," etc.
Words ending in silent "e" after "a"
or conSonant, generally drop the "e"
on taking an additional termination be-
ginning with a vowel as sale, saIable;
plague, plaguy; sue, suing; eye, eying
Compounds and prefxes retain "e,,' as
firearms, fore-ordain, pole-axe; dyeing,
from dye, retains "e, to distinguish It
from dying, the present participle of die.
Mile retains "e" in mileage. Deriva-
tons from proper names retain re, as
Daguerreotype, Morseograph. Words
ending in "ie, change them into ~"
before ing" as lie, lying. Words end
ing in "" preceded by consoUant,
change ~" into Il on taking an ad.
ditionable syllable, as mercy, merciful;
defy, de6ed. Exceptions: "" after a
consonant is not changed into "i," be-
fore ing" or "ish," as dry, drying, dry.
iSh; compounds usually retain "" as
mercy-seat country.town, dairy. maid,
sky-Gghti but dryer, dryest, dryly, dry
ness, shyer, shyest, shyly, shyness are
undisputed exceptions to the rule.
Words ending in ~ preceded by a
vowel, retain the W" as gay, gayly,
eayness, gayety; pray, prayer, praying,
prayed, prays. From day, lay, pay, saw
are formed daily, laid, paid, said, saith.
Monosyllables and words having their
primary accent on tho last syllable.
when they end with single consonant
preceded by a single vowel, double their
final consonant before an additional syl,
liable that begins with a vowel, as wet.
wetter, wetting; drum, drumming,
'drummed; dispel, dispellng, dispelled.
Exceptions: A final x, or the q ? in
gas" should not be doubled, as fix,
fixing; gas, gases. This rule applies
only to deriyations, which retain the ac.
cent Of their primitives, and not to such
as inferable, inference, preferable, pre-
ference, from infer, prefer.
A fnal consonaGeis not doubled when
II is preceded by diphthoug, when the
primary accentis either not on, or not
rhfainad nnon Aha loot avIlahla A., n -