THE

PREFACE.

T has been a general and true Obfervation, that with the Reformation of thefe Realms, Ignorance has gradually vanished at the increafe of Learning amongst us, who take the Word of God for a Lantern to our Feet, and a Light to our Paths. Thus,

They who grop'd their Way to Virtue and Knowledge in the Days of Darkness and implicit Zeal, were taught little more than to mumble over a few Prayers by Heart, and never called upon to read, much less permitted to enquire into the Truth of what they profeffed. But

Since the Sunshine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has risen amongst us; fince we are loofed from the Bands of Ignorance and Superftition; fince every Proteftant believes it to be his Duty to promote Chriftian Knowledge; certainly it will be confeffed, that all Improvements in Learning ought to be incouraged; and confequently that they deferve our particular Regard, who ftudy to make the firft Steps thereof firm and easy. For buman Prudence teacheth, That a good Beginning is the most reaonable Profpect of a good Ending. Therefore,

As we boaft of greater Advantages than our Forefathers, let us take care, left we fruftrate that great Work begun amongst us, by a negligent Profecution of our Duty: For I would have you well affured, that it is as bad to learn the first Rudiments of Literature under wrong and depraved Habits, as not to learn them at all. For, the Man feldom clears himself of those ill Faculties, which he contracted in his tender Age: So, Jays Solomon, Train up a Child in the Way he thould go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. And,

As all Learning gradually afcends from the firft Knowledge and ufe of Letters, Syllables and Wores, what better Work can the Inftructor of Youth undertake, than endeavour to pro

pagate

pagate the Knowledge, prevent and rectify the Mistakes, and root out the ill Habits contracted by many in a wrong Method, either thro' the Ignorance or neglect of the Teacher. Therefore,

As to Letters, we are to obferve that they are the Founda tion of all Learning, as being thofe Parts, of which all Syllables, Words, Sentences and Speeches are compofed. As to their Shape or Form, thofe commonly used in the English, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Portugueze and Italian Languages, are defcribed in the firft Page of this Book. As to their Number, in English they are Twenty-fix. As to their Divifion, they are naturally divided into Vowels and Confonants: and again into fingle and double Letters.

As to Syllables: A Syllable is the uniting one or more Confonants with a Vowel, by which each Letter receives its perfec Sound in Pronunciation; as you may find in the Examples of the fecond and third Pages.

As to Words; they confift of one or more Syllables, and are given us by the alwife God, as a Means by which, not only one Man may make his own Thoughts known to another, but that we thereby may alfo arrive to the Knowledge of the Will of Him our Creator, revealed in the facred Oracles of his Divine Word. Wherefore,

Seeing that the Ufe of Letters Syllables and Words, is of fo great Confequence to human Creatures, abat Care should be taken to fhew that we have acquir'd a true Knowledge thereof, by giving each Letter its proper Place, each Syllable its right Divifion and true Accent, and each Word its natural Sound; which will certainly guide every one to a juft Cadence of their Sentences; without which no one can pretend to write or read intelligibly to others. And

Yet by daily Experience it is found that even many, whe bave attained to the Art of writing a good Hand, are so unfortunate in Spelling, that neither themselves, nor the more knowing, can guess at the Meaning, couched under fuch prepofterous jumble of Letters fet for Words. Because, having never been taught the general Force or Power and Sound of the English Letters, nor the customary and various Uses of Diphthongs; not to mention their total Ignorance of the Derivation of Words, they neither Spell according to Cuftom, Sound, nor Derivation, Wherefore, for the fake of fuck unhappy Scholars, and as much as in me lies, to prevent the Growth of fuch an Evil,

I have in the following Sheets, collected as many dif Forms of Spelling, as the English Tongue affords in

Practics. And as Monofyllables not only make the greate Part of our Tongue, but are the fubftantial Parts of all Words of more than one Syllable, I have been the more particularly careful to reduce them into fuch an Order, as at the fame time to take off much Trouble from the Teacher, and to be o more general Advantage to the young Beginner. For tho' it be true that other Performances of this Nature have pretended to proceed Step by Step; yet it is true also that none of them have provided thofe gradual Paces for their Scholars to afcend by, till they arrive at the Perfection of Spelling. For,

In the feveral Praxes or Leffons, of Monofyllables hitherto Published in our Mother Tongue, inftead of rifing Step by Step, Children are taught to jump before they can go; and if they prove uncapable to take fuch long Strides, as reach fometimes from Monofyllables of two, to others of feven or eight Letters, before they are informed of thofe that come between, they must be thump'd and lugg'd forward, without being once inftructed in the right Knowledge of the most common and useful Parts of our Tongue. Certainly this is as barbarous in Literature, as it would be cruel in Behaviour, to bid a Child take care borv it comes up Stairs, and then to beat it because it cannot fride up feven or eight Steps at once2

Again: If it be reasonable, in the Order of Words, to begin with thofe of one Syllable, as all Spelling Authors agree: it must be also granted as reasonable, that Monofyllables, which confift of various Quantities of Letters, bould be taught in the fame order, proceeding gradually from Words of two Letters, to Words of three, four, five, &c. Letters, as is exmplified in the following Tables. Befides, Experience, which must be allowed to be the best Maßler, will foon declars . in Favour of this Method. Therefore,

I have firft collected only Words of two Letters; then Words of three Letters; after that Words of four Letters, &c. with fhort eafy Leffons between each Table of Werds, adapted in fuch a Manner, that no Leffon comains any one Word which does not belong to a preceding Table. And . tho' I am apprehenfive that fome may object against the Shortnefs of thefe Leffons, it is without Judgment; for any one that inftructs Children, will readily grant that it is better for the Learner to read a fort Lellon twice or thrice over at one Reading, than a long Leffon but once.

But,

By way of Apology, it is hoped the skilful Teacher will pardon the Change of fame Words in thefe Leffons taken from Scripture, when I declare, it was with this View alone, for

the Eafe of the Scholar, that I have fubftituted an easy Word in the Place of one of more difficult Pronunciation; where nevertheless, I have always kept up the true Senfe, the' I have taken the Liberty to alter the Expreffion.

Again: It must be acknowledged that the first Six Leffon

do but just make English: yet, I hope, whoever confiders the Difficulty of compofing Sentences to be read in Lellons, where in each Word is confined to three Letters, will readily overbook the bafeness of the Language, it not being our Province to teach the Politenefs of Stile, but only to provide proper Mate rials, of which all Diction is compofed. Yet great Care is taken to avoid all fuch Words in every Part of this Book, which might tend to excite loofe and diforderly Thoughts, or put Youth or Modefty to the Blush: and all my Tables are filled with the eafieft Words in our Language; even fuch as a Child may have fome Idea of at the first. Pronunciation. Moreover, as we have many Words in English, which agree with Orthography, but differ in Sound, I have admonished the Learner thereof, by inclofing fuch Words within a Parenthesis, thus, (done) (gone) (none) as at the bottom of Page ro.

Having thus with much Pains collected Monofyllables, which are the most useful part of our Language, and reduced them into fuch an order, as feem'd to me, to ferve the Purposes of an easy Intruction, much better than any of thofe Collections published before this Time, I must affure you, that my Care has been equally as much concerned how to facilitate the compounding and dividing fuch Words as confift of more Syllables than one. For this purpofe, I have confulted the Method of Spelling or dividing Syllables in long Words, both according to their Sound, and to the Rules of Grammar: And therefore in the perufal of this Effay towards Spelling, you will find that whenever a Word be divided one way by occurs, that may Sound, and another by Grammar, the Scholar is directed how to understand the doubtful Divifion by his Mark (") over the right fide of the Vowel, which according to the Sound, ought to be joined with the following Confonant, which is neverthelefs contrary to the Rules of Grammar; and therefore divided in fuch a manner as you find them printed.

And as to the Leffons proper to each Table of Words of many Syllables, the fame Care has been continued, not to admit any Word to be read in the jame, but fuch only as fball belong to fome of the foregoing Tables. And I hope is will be efteemed a Perfetion, that I have omitted all fuperfluous Hebrew and obfolete Names, and not detained the

Lear

Learner from the Attainment of more ufeful Words by flopping bis Progrefs in Search of thofe Names proper to Places and Things, as others have done before, by filling many Pages with fuch Names of Perfons, which are not commonly received or used among us; which too often nauseate the young Beginner, and prevent the defired Effect of the diligent Teacher, whofe Place it is to inftruct his Scholars in the most necessary Parts of Literature, And

In

Here F fould finish my Account of this firft Part of Spell. ing, was it not my Province to explode that erroneous Pretence of teaching Children to Spell altogether by the Ear. Oppofition to which, I will fairly afk thofe Teachers, Whether their Scholars did ever attain to a right Judgment of Spelling by that Method, till they were afterwards better inftructed according to Rule? And if this be true, as most certainly it is, that there can be no true Method of Spelling without Rule, I will appeal to my Readers, how inconfiftent it is first to teach by the former Way, thofe Things which afterwards can never be attained but by the latter. Certainly every one will join with me in this Particular, that it is the greatest Folly in the World to learn Things, that afterwards must be learned in another

manner.

Confequently I may presume to be inftrumental in teaching Children to pronounce their Words clear and diftin&t, without Tones or distorted Countenances, which ill Habits, it is well Anown, are too frequently contracted under fuch bad Methods of Inftruction, which I have endeavoured to root out: Habits, which it is too true to be concealed, as it were, perfecute the Learners thro' the different Stages of Life: For having been accustomed to a bad Tone in their early Pronunciation, are karce ever able afterward to quit their lamentable Way of reading with Hems and Hahs.

The Second Part contains fuch Words, which tho' they agree in Sound, differ in Signification; and therefore the Learner ought to be well acquainted with them, in order to prevent bis writing one Word for another, of the fame Sound."

The Third Part is a Compendium of English Grammar, defigned only for English Schools, to enable fuch as are intended to rife no higher, to write their Mother-Tongue intelligibly, and according to the Rules of Grammar: And I hope it will anfwer the End propofed. But

As Practice, in all Arts and Sciences, is the great Medium of Instruction between Mafter and Scholar, I would advise all Teachers, when they find their Learners relish the Rules of this

Part,